Choosing a Health Care Surrogate is not a simple task. However, here are a few things you should take in consideration in order to make your choice a little easier. 

First, think about your immediate family members, close friends or anyone you have near to you that can make decisions on your behalf, if the need becomes evident. Once you have narrowed down your list, think about how your relationship is with each of them using past experiences. 

The purpose of this exercise is to see if there is a good level of trust, since you will essentially be giving them authority over your medical decisions, along with being able to request and review your medical records, and speak to your doctors. 

Second, think about past experiences with family or friends during the end of their lives and how that may help you decide on a Health Care Surrogate. Maybe you witnessed issues between family members when making decisions for a loved one. What did you learn from this experience? What would you do differently? What would you do the same? Those are the things you should think about. 

Third, once you choose your Health Care Surrogate, you should have your attorney draft your Medical Power of Attorney to make sure it has all of the necessary language, according to Florida law. If certain provisions are missing from the Medical Power of Attorney, some healthcare institutions may not accept it, making your document essentially useless. 

Plus, when your attorney is drafting your document, he or she will have a discussion with you about your Surrogate to make sure you have chosen the right person for you.

Fourth, and most importantly, you should have a conversation with your Health Care Surrogate about your each other’s expectations. This is important in order to clarify any issues before they come to fruition.