Living Wills & Advance Directives in Fort Walton Beach

Advance Directive Planning Backed by 45+ Years of Combined Experience

When a medical crisis strikes, your family shouldn’t have to guess what you would want. A properly drafted living will and advance directive puts your wishes in writing and removes that burden from the people who care about you most. At Copus & Copus, P.A., we’ve guided Fort Walton Beach area residents through this planning since 2009, with over 45 years of combined attorney experience and thousands of cases handled across Okaloosa, Santa Rosa, and Walton Counties. Our office is accessible via US-98 and SR-85, and we offer virtual consultations for clients who can’t come in person, whether because of age, mobility, or the challenge of coordinating care for an incapacitated family member.

Ready to get your advance directives in place? Call us at (850) 779-3439 to schedule a consultation with our Fort Walton Beach estate planning team.

What Florida Law Says About Living Wills & Advance Directives

Florida Statutes Chapter 765, the Health Care Advance Directives chapter, governs how Floridians document their health care wishes. Under Florida Statute 765.101, an advance directive is a witnessed written document or oral statement in which a competent adult, called the principal, gives instructions or expresses their wishes about health care decisions. A living will is one specific type of advance directive. Not every advance directive is a living will.

A living will allows you to direct whether life-prolonging procedures should be provided, withheld, or withdrawn if you have a terminal condition, an end-stage condition, or are in a persistent vegetative state. The document doesn’t take effect the moment it’s signed. It becomes effective only after your primary physician and a consulting physician both determine there is no reasonable medical probability of recovery.

Living Wills, Health Care Surrogates, & DNR Orders: Key Differences

These three documents address related but distinct situations, and mixing them up can leave gaps in your planning.

• Living will: A written directive from you describing your wishes about life-prolonging treatment under specific medical conditions.
• Health care surrogate designation: A separate document that names another person to make health care decisions on your behalf. You don’t have to be incapacitated to execute one, and it works alongside a living will, not instead of it.
• Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) order: A medical order signed by a physician directing emergency personnel not to perform CPR. Unlike a living will, which is prepared and signed by the patient, a DNR is a physician’s order.

Execution Requirements Under Florida Statute 765.302

A living will is valid in Florida only if it meets the statutory execution requirements. You must sign the document in the presence of two subscribing witnesses, and at least one of those witnesses can’t be your spouse or a blood relative. If you’re physically unable to sign, one witness may sign your name in your presence and at your direction.

A properly executed living will establishes a rebuttable presumption of clear and convincing evidence of your wishes under Florida law. That legal weight can matter if a dispute arises among family members or between your family and a health care provider.

Do You Need an Attorney for an Advance Directive?

Florida law doesn’t require an attorney to create an advance directive, and it doesn’t mandate a specific form. But a document drafted without legal guidance can contain language that doesn’t reflect current law or that fails to capture your actual intentions. Choosing a health care surrogate, for example, involves real judgment: availability, willingness to serve under pressure, and alignment with your values all matter.

At Copus & Copus, P.A., living wills and advance directives are part of a broader estate planning practice that includes wills, trusts, and probate matters. We can review what you already have, draft new documents from the ground up, or update directives that no longer reflect your wishes.

Start Your Advance Directive Planning in Fort Walton Beach

Whether you’re beginning your estate plan or updating documents drafted years ago, our team can help. We offer virtual consultations for clients who prefer to meet remotely, flexible payment plans to help manage legal costs, and bilingual service in English and Spanish. Call Copus & Copus, P.A. at (850) 779-3439 or use our contact form to schedule a consultation. Getting these documents right takes time and attention, and we’re here to give you both.