General Information About The Last Will and Testament

A will is a legal document that helps you to protect your assets and minimize any dispute over the distribution of your estate when you pass on. When created properly, a will is a tool that will control the distribution of your property upon your death. Also, you can use a last will and testament to appoint a guardian over your minor child(ren) in the event you pass on. You can also name the person who will manage your estate after you die, to help properly execute the will and distribute the property to the appropriate beneficiaries as directed. If any of these issues are important to you then you should think about creating a last will and testament.

When you have created a will, your assets are distributed to your beneficiaries through an order of the probate court. The executor, which you name in your will, gathers up the assets and provides an inventory of it to the probate court. The executor is then responsible for overseeing the testator’s (person who made the will) assets while distributing them according to the specific requests in the will.

To make a valid will the person who made the will must have been at least 18 years old or more and must have signed the document in the presence of two witnesses. For the will to be valid the testator (person making the will) must sign the document in front of two witnesses, and the signature must be notarized in the presence of those same two witnesses.

A lot of people get confused between a Trust and a Last Will and Testament. A Trust details how property is held, transferred, or owned before the death of the person who made the trust. If a Trust is the legal owner of the transferred property and the testator dies then the transferred property doesn’t have to go through Probate court. This is because a Trust doesn’t give directive to your wishes over your assets after your death like a last will does.

This article has been brought to you by Legal Forms Bank .Biz - where you can download legal forms online. When you download your state’s last will and testament kit, you get instructions and the form in PDF format, and other formats that allows you to easily fill out and print out the form at home on your PC without the need for a lawyer.

Florida State Living Wills

Out of all the documents available to make an estate plan a living will is perhaps the most important. This is probably the only life and death document you will ever sign, unless you’re a judge. Despite how important this document is many people still don’t understand how it actually works. Although this is understandable since it is not one of the most exciting or pleasant of topics. However, if you fail to face this issue, then you lose the ability to make decisions on how your estate will be divided.

A living will is a advance medical directive that expresses your wishes to the type of treatment that should be provided, withdrawn or withheld. These wishes can include life-prolonging procedures. The state of Florida allows you to decide whether life-prolonging procedures should be withdrawn or withheld in the event of a terminal condition, a persistent vegetative state or an end-stage condition. An end state condition is an irreversible condition that results in progressively severe and permanent deterioration which treatment cannot be effective. A terminal condition is when there is no chance of recovery and without treatment can be expected to cause death. A persistent vegetative states means there is a permanent, irreversible condition of unconsciousness. In Florida, only in the event of one of these conditions will a living will go into effect.

Doctors determine the patient’s condition with a legal medical decision. I say legal because there are legal requirements for this procedure before a living will can be exercised. To legally determine the patients condition a patient must be determined to be in that condition by the attending/treating physician and at least one other physician who separately examined the patient. Their determination and findings must be documented, in the patient’s medical record, and signed by both physicians before life-prolonging procedures can be withdrawn or withheld.

If you disagree with the physician’s decision to withdraw or withhold life-prolonging treatment then there is a procedure you can follow to dispute it. While the decision is being disputed the doctor must continue to provide medical treatment to the patient. Within seven days you must seek a judicial review of the disputed decision, or the attending physician may remove or withhold life-prolonging treatments in accordance with the living will.

In conclusion, it is your right to allow or refuse medical treatment, even life-prolonging procedures. Having a living will ensures that your wishes on the type of medical treatment you desire is honored. Your treatment should not be based on the statutes and the opinions of others. Also, failing to express your wishes in a living will could result in your beloved ones being forced to make painful decisions for you without understanding your wishes. If these issues matter to you, then you should create a living will that represents your wishes and desires as soon as possible.

This article has been brought to you by Legal Forms Bank .Biz. At their site you can download a Florida state living will kit with instructions in PDF format so you can fill and print them out at home on your PC. They make it easy to create legal forms yourself without the need for a lawyer.