What legal documents does a senior need?

Three core ones: a living will (end-of-life wishes), a health care surrogate designation (who decides medical care if you can't), and a durable power of attorney (who handles money and legal matters). Many add a HIPAA release and, if appropriate, a Do Not Resuscitate order.

What's the difference between a living will and a health care surrogate?

A living will states the treatment you do or don't want near the end of life. A health care surrogate names a person to make medical decisions whenever you can't. Most people do both.

Not for the health-care papers. In Florida you can complete a living will and health care surrogate yourself with the free state forms, signed before two witnesses (one not a spouse or blood relative). A financial durable power of attorney is more powerful, so many people have a lawyer prepare it.

Where do I get free Florida forms?

Florida's Agency for Health Care Administration posts free, state-approved forms at FloridaHealthFinder, and the Florida Bar has a plain-language guide. Call AHCA at 888-419-3456. Low-income seniors can get free legal help through the Elder Helpline.

What is a durable power of attorney?

A document naming someone you trust to handle financial and legal matters. "Durable" means it stays in effect if you become incapacitated. Because it's powerful, set it up carefully, ideally with an attorney.

What can a power of attorney not do in Florida?

It can't write or cancel a will, vote, swear to facts only the person would know, or act as trustee or guardian in their place. A married person's home can't be sold or mortgaged without the spouse signing. And it only covers medical decisions if it says so in plain words. Seven powers, including making gifts and changing beneficiaries, need the person's own initials next to each one.

What if someone has none of these?

If they can't decide and have no documents, the family may have to ask a court to appoint a guardian -- slow, costly, and public. Signing ahead keeps decisions with the people you choose.

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The legal papers every senior should have (Florida)

A few simple documents keep decisions in the hands of the people you trust, instead of a courtroom. Here are the three that matter most in Florida, where to get the free state forms, and when it's worth a lawyer. This is general information, not a recommendation for your own situation.

Last reviewed: September 13, 2026

The short version:

What legal documents does a senior need? Three papers matter most: a living will, a health care surrogate, and a durable power of attorney.
Do I have to pay for advance directive forms in Florida? No. Florida has free, state-approved forms. You can get them without paying anyone.
Can I do a living will and health care surrogate myself in Florida? Yes. They just need two witnesses (one not a spouse or blood relative).
Do I need a lawyer? The money one is worth a lawyer. A durable power of attorney is powerful, so set it up carefully.
What if someone has none of these? The family may have to go to court for a guardian. So do it before a crisis.

Common questions

What legal documents does a senior need?: Three core ones: a living will (end-of-life wishes), a health care surrogate designation (who decides medical care if you can't), and a durable power of attorney (who handles money and legal matters). Many add a HIPAA release and, if appropriate, a Do Not Resuscitate order.
What's the difference between a living will and a health care surrogate?: A living will states the treatment you do or don't want near the end of life. A health care surrogate names a person to make medical decisions whenever you can't. Most people do both.
Do I need a lawyer?: Not for the health-care papers. In Florida you can complete a living will and health care surrogate yourself with the free state forms, signed before two witnesses (one not a spouse or blood relative). A financial durable power of attorney is more powerful, so many people have a lawyer prepare it.
Where do I get free Florida forms?: Florida's Agency for Health Care Administration posts free, state-approved forms at FloridaHealthFinder, and the Florida Bar has a plain-language guide. Call AHCA at 888-419-3456. Low-income seniors can get free legal help through the Elder Helpline.
What is a durable power of attorney?: A document naming someone you trust to handle financial and legal matters. "Durable" means it stays in effect if you become incapacitated. Because it's powerful, set it up carefully, ideally with an attorney.
What can a power of attorney not do in Florida?: It can't write or cancel a will, vote, swear to facts only the person would know, or act as trustee or guardian in their place. A married person's home can't be sold or mortgaged without the spouse signing. And it only covers medical decisions if it says so in plain words. Seven powers, including making gifts and changing beneficiaries, need the person's own initials next to each one.
What if someone has none of these?: If they can't decide and have no documents, the family may have to ask a court to appoint a guardian -- slow, costly, and public. Signing ahead keeps decisions with the people you choose.

The three documents, plainly

Document	What it does	Lawyer needed?
Living will	States your wishes about life-prolonging treatment near the end of life	No -- free state form, 2 witnesses
Health care surrogate	Names the person who makes medical decisions when you can't	No -- free state form, 2 witnesses
Durable power of attorney	Names who handles money, bills, and legal matters, even if you're incapacitated	Recommended -- it's powerful

Two more worth knowing: a HIPAA authorization lets named people talk to your doctors, and a Do Not Resuscitate Order (DNRO) -- on Florida's yellow form, signed by a physician -- tells emergency responders not to attempt CPR, if that's your choice.

What a power of attorney can do in Florida, and what it can't

A durable power of attorney is the one paper on this page that hands someone real authority over your money. Florida's law puts three limits on it, and they surprise most families.

It works the day it's signed

In Florida, a power of attorney takes effect the moment it's signed, not when you become unable to manage. Florida stopped allowing the kind that "kicks in later" on October 1, 2011. So the person you name can act for you today. Choose someone you'd trust with the checkbook now.

General wording grants nothing

Florida makes you spell out each power. A line granting "all powers" or "anything I could do myself" grants none of them. The form has to name each authority: paying bills, dealing with the bank, selling property, handling taxes, and so on.

Seven powers need more than that. Your parent has to sign or put their initials next to each one, on its own line, or the person named can't use it:

Power that needs its own initials	What it means
Make gifts	Give away your parent's money or property, including to family
Create a trust	Set up a living trust and move property into it
Change or end a trust	Amend, revoke, or terminate a trust your parent already has, if the trust allows it
Change who inherits jointly owned property	Add or remove a right of survivorship on a house or an account
Change a beneficiary	Change who is named on a life insurance policy, a retirement account, or a pay-on-death account
Give up a survivor annuity	Waive your parent's right to keep receiving a joint-and-survivor annuity
Turn down an inheritance	Disclaim property your parent would otherwise receive

These are the powers that get abused, which is why Florida made them hard to hand over by accident. Unless the paper says otherwise, someone who isn't your parent's spouse, child, grandchild, or parent can't use those powers to give themselves any of your parent's property.

Some things no power of attorney can do

Write or cancel your parent's will, or change it.
Vote for your parent in an election.
Swear to something in an affidavit that only your parent would know.
Do a job your parent was hired to do personally.
Act as trustee or court-appointed guardian in your parent's place.
Sell or mortgage the family home without the spouse signing too, if your parent is married. Florida's constitution requires both signatures.
Make medical decisions, unless the paper says so in plain words. That's the health care surrogate's job, and it's a separate form.

The person named is a fiduciary, meaning the law requires them to act in your parent's interest, keep records of every transaction, and produce them within 60 days if someone entitled to see them asks. If your parent can no longer understand what they'd be signing, a power of attorney is off the table and the family is looking at guardianship. Our senior legal questions page covers what to do at that point, including when a parent has dementia.

Where to get the free forms

Florida Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) -- free living will, health care surrogate, and anatomical donation forms at FloridaHealthFinder; call 888-419-3456
The Florida Bar -- a free, plain-language consumer guide to advance directives
CaringInfo (from the national hospice organization) -- free Florida advance directive forms
Free legal help for low-income seniors -- ask the Elder Helpline; the Older Americans Act funds legal aid

After you sign, give copies to your surrogate, your family, and your doctors, and keep the originals somewhere they can be found fast. A document nobody can locate in an emergency doesn't help.

Sources

Florida Agency for Health Care Administration -- Health Care Advance Directives (free state forms). https://quality.healthfinder.fl.gov/report-guides/advance-directives
The Florida Bar -- Living Wills, Health Care Surrogates, and Advance Directives. https://www.floridabar.org/public/consumer/consumer003/
CaringInfo (NHPCO) -- Florida advance directive forms. https://www.caringinfo.org/planning/advance-directives/by-state/florida/
Florida Statutes sections 709.2201 (what an agent can't do; general wording grants nothing), 709.2202 (powers that need separate initials), 709.2108 (effective when signed; no springing powers after October 1, 2011), 709.2114 (fiduciary duties and the 60-day records rule); Florida Constitution Article X, section 4(c) (spouse must join a sale or mortgage of the homestead).
Florida Statutes ch. 765 (advance directives) and ch. 709 (power of attorney). https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes

Please read: Nature Coast Senior Resources is an independent guide. We are not attorneys and this is general information, not a recommendation for your own situation. Laws and forms change, and every situation is different -- confirm with the official Florida sources above, and talk to an elder-law attorney for the financial power of attorney or anything complex. We never sell or share your information.