Healthcare Surrogate
Florida Healthcare Surrogate: The Correct Florida Term for Medical Decision-Making
When most people search for a medical power of attorney in Florida, they are looking for the same thing as a healthcare surrogate designation. Florida law does not use the term “medical power of attorney” for healthcare decisions. The correct Florida term is a designation of health care surrogate, governed by Chapter 765 of the Florida Statutes.
A healthcare surrogate designation appoints someone to make medical decisions on your behalf if you cannot make them yourself. Your surrogate’s authority begins only when your attending physician determines in writing that you lack the capacity to make your own healthcare decisions under Florida Statute §765.204. Until that determination is made, your decisions are final and the surrogate has no authority to override them.
Under Florida Statute §765.2035, a properly drafted healthcare surrogate designation already grants your surrogate access to your protected health information under HIPAA. You do not need a separate HIPAA authorization form. Attorney Schoonover drafts every designation to include this language so your surrogate can handle hospital communication from day one without delays caused by privacy restrictions.
Surrogate Acts Immediately
Once your physician certifies incapacity in writing, your surrogate has full authority to act no court delay, no waiting period.
Separate HIPAA Form Needed
A correctly drafted designation already includes HIPAA access. Your surrogate can speak with doctors and review your records from day one.
Any Adult Over 18 Can Serve
Your surrogate does not need to be a family member or Florida resident. Trusted friends who share your values often make the strongest surrogates.
Be Signed Before Incapacity
A designation executed after incapacity has already begun is void. This document must be created before a health crisis, not during one.
What Your Healthcare Surrogate Can Do on Your Behalf
Your surrogate can make any healthcare decision you could have made yourself, to the extent you authorize in the designation.
Consent to or Refuse Treatment
Authorize or decline any medical procedure, surgery, or treatment, including life sustaining measures, on your behalf.
Choose Treatment Facilities
Select or transfer between hospitals, rehabilitation centers, nursing facilities, and other healthcare providers.
Access Medical Records
Review all of your health information under HIPAA, included in every designation Attorney Schoonover prepares, no separate form needed.
Communicate With Providers
Speak directly with doctors, nurses, and hospital administrators on your behalf from the moment the surrogate's authority is activated.
Apply for Benefits
Apply for government and public benefits on your behalf, including Medicaid and Medicare, during any period of incapacity.
End of Life Decisions
Authorize or refuse life sustaining treatment, including ventilation, feeding tubes, and CPR, following any specific instructions you included in the designation.
Who Should Serve as Your Healthcare Surrogate in Florida?
Any mentally competent adult over the age of 18 can serve. The most important qualities are not legal qualifications they are personal ones. Your surrogate needs to understand your values, have the emotional strength to advocate for those values under pressure, and be willing to follow your instructions even when other family members disagree.
Understands Your Values
Your surrogate must know how you feel about life-sustaining treatment, quality of life, and medical intervention not just what the document says.
Can Advocate Under Pressure
Hospital settings are emotionally difficult. Your surrogate needs the strength to speak clearly for you when other family members may disagree.
Successor Surrogate Named
Attorney Schoonover addresses successor surrogate designation in every document. A surrogate who cannot be reached when needed is functionally the same as having no surrogate at all.
Under Florida Statute §765.202, your surrogate cannot serve as one of the two witnesses to your signature when the document is executed. This is a common error in documents prepared from online templates. Attorney Schoonover oversees every signing to ensure the witness requirements are met correctly.
What Happens If You Have No Designation in Florida?
Without a healthcare surrogate designation, Florida law activates the proxy statute under Florida Statute §765.401 a ranked list that determines who speaks for you. The result may be a stranger to your values making the most important medical decisions of your life.
A healthcare surrogate designation typically costs far less than a guardianship proceeding and prevents the court involvement entirely. You choose who speaks for you based on who knows you best, not on a statutory list.
What Your Surrogate Can and Cannot Decide About End of Life Treatment
End of life decisions are among the most consequential choices your surrogate may face and the ones families are least prepared for. Your designation should address them explicitly.
A living will is a separate document where you record specific instructions about which life-prolonging procedures you do or do not want. Your surrogate must follow those instructions. Attorney Schoonover prepares both documents as a coordinated package so your surrogate has clear written guidance on every decision they may face.
What Makes a Florida Healthcare Surrogate Designation Legally Valid
Florida Statute §765.202 sets out the execution requirements. A document that misses any single requirement is legally invalid and will be rejected by hospitals and healthcare providers at exactly the moment your family needs it most.
Legal Capacity at Signing
You must be at least 18 years old and mentally competent at the time of signing. A designation executed after incapacity has already begun is void. This is the most important reason to prepare the document before a health crisis begins not during one.
Two Adult Witnesses Sign Together
You must sign in front of two adult witnesses who also sign in your presence. Your surrogate cannot be one of the witnesses. At least one of the two witnesses must not be your spouse or a blood relative. Both witnesses must sign at the same time.
Activation Language Required
Florida law requires the designation to state whether the surrogate's authority begins immediately or only upon a determination of incapacity. Most designations are drafted to activate only upon incapacity so your own decisions remain final as long as you have capacity.
HIPAA Access Language Included
A properly drafted designation grants your surrogate full access to your protected health information under HIPAA. This language must be specifically included. Many online templates omit it entirely requiring a separate HIPAA form at the worst possible moment.
She oversees the signing ceremony for every healthcare surrogate designation she prepares. Witnesses, sequencing, activation language, and HIPAA access provisions are all completed correctly the first time. Documents prepared from online templates frequently fail the witness requirement or omit the commencement language entirely.
- Super Lawyers Rising Stars 2021 through 2026
- 2024 Elite Lawyer Award
- Florida Bar #124081, admitted September 2016
Your Healthcare Surrogate Attorney in South Florida
Attorney Yanitza Schoonover prepares every healthcare surrogate designation as part of a fully coordinated set of Florida estate planning documents. Your surrogate designation is reviewed alongside your durable power of attorney, your living will, your will or trust, and your Lady Bird Deed so all documents work together and no decision falls through the cracks.
Years in Estate Law
Years Licensed
Consecutive Rising Stars
Weekly Availability
Why Choose The Schoonover Law Firm for Healthcare Surrogate Designations
Documents prepared from online templates frequently fail the witness requirement, omit HIPAA language, or miss the activation language entirely at exactly the moment a family needs the document to hold up.
Attorney-Drafted Personally
Yanitza Schoonover, Florida Bar #124081, personally prepares every healthcare surrogate designation.
HIPAA Access Built Into Every Document
Every designation includes the §765.2035 HIPAA language. No separate authorization form needed. Your surrogate can communicate with hospitals immediately.
Flat Fee for Estate Planning
All fees confirmed in writing before work begins. No hourly billing. No surprises after you sign.
Signing Ceremony Overseen Correctly
Every execution is overseen to ensure witnesses, sequencing, and activation language meet Florida Statute §765.202 the first time.
Bilingual: English and Spanish
Full consultations and document review available in Spanish. Hablamos español. Available seven days a week.
Every Document Coordinated
Your surrogate designation is reviewed alongside your POA, living will, will, and trust. Nothing conflicts. Nothing is left uncovered.
Areas We Serve
The Schoonover Law Firm serves clients statewide across Florida. Attorney Yanitza Schoonover is based at 6303 Waterford District Dr, Suite 400, Miami, FL 33126.
Miami-Dade County
Miami, Hialeah, Coral Gables, Miami Beach, Homestead, Miami Gardens, North Miami, Doral, Aventura, Cutler Bay, Palmetto Bay, Pinecrest, South Miami, Miami Lakes, North Miami Beach, Opa-locka, Sweetwater, Sunny Isles Beach, Bal Harbour, Key Biscayne, Miami Shores, Surfside, Biscayne Park, El Portal, West Miami, Virginia Gardens, Medley, Hialeah Gardens, Florida City, North Bay Village, Bay Harbor Islands, Golden Beach, Miami Springs, Islandia, Westchester, Tamiami, Kendale Lakes, The Hammocks, Fountainebleau, University Park, Olympia Heights, Gladeview, Leisure City, Naranja, Princeton, Three Lakes, Country Club, Kendall
Broward County
Fort Lauderdale, Plantation, Hollywood, Pembroke Pines, Miramar, Coral Springs, Pompano Beach, Davie, Deerfield Beach, Sunrise
Palm Beach County
Boca Raton, West Palm Beach, Delray Beach, Boynton Beach, Lake Worth, Wellington, Greenacres
Attorney Yanitza Schoonover serves all South Florida. Call (305) 299-7496 for any Florida location not listed.
Frequently Asked Questions About Florida Healthcare Surrogate Designations
What is the difference between a healthcare surrogate and a medical power of attorney in Florida?
Florida does not use the term medical power of attorney for healthcare decisions. The correct Florida term is a designation of health care surrogate under Chapter 765 of the Florida Statutes. When people search for a medical power of attorney in Florida for healthcare purposes, they are describing the same document. The difference matters legally because the execution requirements, the scope of authority, and the statutory framework are specific to Florida’s health care surrogate law, not to general power of attorney law under Chapter 709.
What decisions can my healthcare surrogate make about life sustaining treatment?
Your surrogate can consent to or refuse any medical treatment on your behalf, including decisions about life sustaining treatment such as mechanical ventilation, artificial nutrition and hydration, and cardiopulmonary resuscitation. The surrogate must follow any instructions you included in the designation. Where you gave no specific instructions, the surrogate must act in your best interest as your attending physician understands it. A living will prepared alongside your surrogate designation is where you record more detailed end of life decisions so your surrogate has clear guidance.
Can my surrogate handle hospital communication and access my medical records?
Yes, and this is one of the most practical benefits of a properly drafted designation. Under Florida Statute §765.2035, your healthcare surrogate has the right to access your protected health information under HIPAA. This means your surrogate can speak directly with doctors, nurses, and hospital administrators, review your medical records, and make informed decisions without being blocked by privacy laws. You do not need a separate HIPAA authorization form when the surrogate designation is drafted correctly. Many online templates omit this language, which is why having an attorney draft the document matters.
What happens if I become incapacitated without a healthcare surrogate designation in Florida?
Without a designation, Florida law activates the proxy statute under Florida Statute §765.401, which lists the order of priority for who may make healthcare decisions for you: a court-appointed guardian, your spouse, your adult children, your parents, your siblings, other adult relatives, and finally a close friend. If no one in this list is available or willing to serve, a clinical social worker may be appointed. The proxy statute means a court or a stranger to your values may make the most important medical decisions of your life. A designation prevents this entirely and typically costs far less than the guardianship proceedings that often follow.
Can I revoke a healthcare surrogate designation after signing it?
Yes, at any time as long as you have legal capacity. Florida law allows revocation by signing and dating a written revocation statement, physically destroying the document, creating a new designation that replaces the prior one, or expressing a clear intent to revoke it. Written revocation is strongly recommended. Verbal revocation is permitted under Florida law but creates ambiguity about your intent and can lead to disputes between your surrogate and healthcare providers. If you are divorcing a spouse you named as surrogate, Florida law automatically revokes that designation unless you specify otherwise.
Do you offer healthcare surrogate consultations in Spanish?
Yes. All consultations and document preparation are fully available in Spanish. Hablamos español. Llámenos al (305) 299-7496.
Ready to Choose Who Speaks for You in a Medical Crisis?
Call (305) 299-7496 or email info@estateplanningattorney.us. Attorney Schoonover reviews your situation, helps you identify the right surrogate and successor, and confirms that every execution requirement under Florida Statute §765.202 is met. A flat fee quote is delivered before any work begins.
Attorney Schoonover also prepares durable powers of attorney, living wills, wills, revocable living trusts, and Lady Bird Deeds as part of a complete Florida estate plan all coordinated so no document conflicts with another.
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In-person meetings by appointment only.
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