A guide to powers of attorney and health care directives in Florida

A fall, a stroke, dementia, or a sudden illness can leave anyone unable to pay bills, sign documents, or speak with doctors. A spouse does not automatically have authority over accounts and property in the other spouse's name alone, and adult children have no authority at all without signed documents or a court order.

Depending on the powers the document grants, an agent can pay bills, manage bank and investment accounts, handle real estate, deal with insurance and taxes, and sign documents for you.

• Florida requires the principal, the person granting the powers, to sign in front of two witnesses and a notary.
• Certain significant powers, such as making gifts, creating or changing a trust, and changing beneficiary designations, are valid only if the principal separately initials or signs next to each one.
• The agent must act in good faith, within the authority granted, and loyally for the principal's benefit, and must keep records.

Because the agent can act right away, choosing a trustworthy agent is the most important decision in the document. A power of attorney ends at the principal's death. After that, the personal representative of the estate or the successor trustee of a trust takes over.

You can choose when your surrogate may act: only after a doctor determines that you lack capacity, or right away. Acting right away lets the surrogate help with doctors and records while you are still making your own decisions. As long as you are able to decide, your own decisions come first.

The designation must be signed in front of two adult witnesses. At least one witness cannot be your spouse or a blood relative, and the person you name as surrogate cannot serve as a witness.

It records your decisions in advance, so your family does not have to guess what you would want. A living will must be signed in front of two witnesses, at least one of whom is not your spouse or a blood relative. A living will is different from a do-not-resuscitate order, which is a separate medical form signed by a physician.

HIPAA is the federal law that protects the privacy of medical information. The authorization is especially helpful for adult children who help a parent, and for an agent under a power of attorney who needs to understand your condition in order to manage your affairs.

For medical decisions, Florida law allows certain family members to serve as a health care proxy in a set order when there is no surrogate, but that gives no one authority over finances. A designation of pre-need guardian tells the court whom you would want to serve if a guardianship ever becomes necessary.

• The same person does not have to serve in every role.
• Talk with the people you name about your wishes before a crisis.
• Give your surrogate a copy of your health care documents, and consider giving one to your doctor.
• Review the documents every few years, and after a move, a divorce, or the death or illness of someone you named.

Florida generally recognizes health care advance directives that were valid in the state where they were signed. Financial institutions are often more cautious with out-of-state powers of attorney, particularly those written to begin only upon incapacity.