Living Will or DNR? That is the Question

No one wants to think about the possibility of end of life decisions but in our world is very real.  We never know if or when that day will come or whether we will be able to communicate our wishes.  Because of the advances in medicine and technology, people can execute Living Wills long before the need exists.  Hill Law Group drafts Living Wills as a part of most estate plans.  Signing a Living Will can be scary.  People think they are giving up rights but really, the opposite may be true.  And, sometimes people get confused thinking the Living Will is the same as a DNR but it is not.

A living will is a legal document that tells others what he or she would want under certain conditions when there would be no medical probability of recovery.  Those conditions are outlined and defined by Florida law.  The person can choose to withhold different forms of life extending treatments such as respirators, surgeries, and tube feedings to name a few.

A DNRO, commonly called DNR, is a Do Not Resuscitate Order is an order signed by a medical doctor that tells the medical community not to do CPR – cardio pulmonary resuscitation – if the person’s heart or lungs stop working.     It only covers resuscitation and not the other life prolonging procedures.   In Florida the DNR is a form created by the Department of Health.  The form and questions about it are available at https://www.floridahealth.gov/about-the-department-of-health/about-us/patient-rights-and-safety/do-not-resuscitate/faq-page.html.  Or, go to www.Floridahealth.gov and search “DNRO.”

Read on: https://ow.ly/NJqBv 

Hope this was helpful!