Supplemental
Documents
…..A WILL IS NOT ENOUGH
What are supplement documents?
• Supplemental documents are essential to the planning of your estate. Since
they control what happens to you when you are still alive, they are arguably the most important
estate planning documents you can have.
• These supplemental documents usually fall under the categories of
Durable Power of Attorney, Designation of Health Care Surrogate, HIPAA Release Authorization and
Living Will.
• Supplemental documents may also include real estate agreements,
prenuptial agreements, loans and gift bequests.
What are the advantages to executing supplemental
documents?
CONTROL!!!
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The government could be
running your estate while you are ill or incapacitated
-
Supplemental documents will allow you to designate how your estate will be
administered if you get ill or are incapacitated.
-
If you do not execute
supplemental documents, a guardian from the state or an estranged next of kin may be
making decisions for you.
What kind of decisions do supplemental documents
control?
 The most important decisions you will ever
make regarding your life including:
•Who Can Make Medical Decisions For
You
•Who Can Authorize Financial Transactions On Your Behalf
•Who Can View Your Medical Records
•If You Must Be Kept Alive Artificially
What will executing these documents do for
me?
• There are many different documents you may want to include in your estate;
however, the most common ones include instructions that reflect your medical and financial
desires. They include:
1. Durable Power of Attorney - This Power of Attorney form is designed to allow the designated person or
persons to manage your financial affairs either immediately or in the future should you become
mentally or physically unable to do so.
2. Designation of Health Care Surrogate - This document is based on the statutory language found in Florida Statute
765.203. It allows the designated person or persons to make medical decisions on your
behalf.
3. HIPAA Release - HIPAA (the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996)
requires health care providers to be very careful how they release health care information. All
health care providers are required to make reasonable efforts to limit the release of protected
health information to the minimum necessary to accomplish the intended purpose of the particular
disclosure or request for disclosure. In this form, you will name one or more persons who will
be able to have access to all of your medical information.
4. Living Will - This form allows you to state
whether you want your life to be artificially prolonged or whether you prefer to be allowed
to die naturally. This document contains the statutory language found in Florida Statute
765.303. Without a correctly executed living will, you must be kept alive artificially no
matter what your true wishes are or how much it costs your family
financially.
The best way to be certain of which
supplemental documents you need as part of your estate plan is to consult with your estate planning
attorney. Our attorneys will evaluate your needs and desires and outline a plan that is best for
you. Supplemental documents ensure that your estate is handled as you wish during your lifetime and
after you die.
For more information on successful Florida estate planning and asset
protection techniques, please contact the South Florida law firm of Wild Felice & Partners,
P.A. at 954-944-2855 to schedule your free consultation.
It’s a Wild world. Are you protected?
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