Consider the following:

• A family member is "extremely" ill. However, the doctors do not agree that the patient is "terminal." The living will will not be honored.

• The family cannot agree on whether to remove life supports. The living will probably will not be honored despite your specific instructions.

• Family members, hoping for a miracle, insist on life supports long after the doctors have said it was hopeless, in direct violation of your living will.

• After a short hospital visit, you find yourself in a rehab center. Your living will will not be honored there.

Florida Statues Chapter 765 provides for a person's ability to make healthcare directives and a living will. However, more and more we are seeing that sometimes the most well-drafted document may not be worth the paper it is printed on and the most well-prepared patients may find themselves in positions they specifically tried to avoid.

Recently there have been hearings around the state by a panel convened by the state legislature concerning the issues of the right to die. As a result, there have been recent law changes affecting your Living Will and Health care Surrogate. Among the most significant changes is that life supports can be terminated not only for a person who is terminally ill and death is imminent but also for a person with an "end stage" condition where he or she, although not technically "terminal," is so incapacitated with an irreversible condition that treatment would be medically ineffective. This very important change "bridges the gap" that was plaguing patients and families.

This new law was effective on October 1, 1999. Because there is still much restrictive language in the statute, and because the right to die is a very personal decision and the issues are very complex and serious, the following are some things you can do to encourage your living will and healthcare directive to be honored:

1. Keep a good doctor / patient relationship with not only you but with your family members. This will better insure that your wishes are carried out.

2. Discuss your decisions with your family and your doctor and provide the doctor with copies of pertinent documents.

3. Make sure your family--the whole family--knows your wishes and are in agreement as to carrying them out.

4. If you have no close family members or they are not in agreement, find a surrogate who will carry out your wishes.

5. Make sure the documents are readily available--not in a safe deposit box.