If you cannot communicate, who should be contacted first?

The first minutes matter. So does the first voice.

When something happens and you cannot communicate for yourself, the people helping you have questions: who should be contacted, and where are the documents that matter? The First Voice Card, from the Emergency Manual®, helps put that information in convenient-to-find places.

• Your health care surrogate. The card lists the contact information of the person you have named as your health care surrogate. That designation is a separate legal document; the card is not one.
• Where your documents are. A place to record where your critical documents can be found, so the right papers have a greater chance of reaching the right hands quickly.
• Who to call. Names and phone numbers of the people who should be contacted, written down before anyone needs them.

Five things every Florida retiree should know

1. Florida law lets you name a health care surrogate: the person who makes medical decisions for you when you cannot (chapter 765, Florida Statutes).
2. A living will records your wishes; a surrogate speaks them. Most people need both, and they are not the same document.
3. If you moved to Florida from another state, documents drafted elsewhere are worth reviewing under Florida law.
4. A durable power of attorney lets someone you trust handle finances if you become incapacitated, without a court proceeding to get started.
5. Documents only help if the right people can find them. That is the intent of the First Voice Card.

Three counties, one circuit

The Villages spans Sumter, Lake, and Marion Counties. All three are in Florida's Fifth Judicial Circuit, so if an estate needs probate, it is opened in the county where the person lived. A plan built around a funded trust can keep much of that out of court. The official offices for each county are on my free Resource Hub: Sumter · Lake · Marion.

How we work together

Most of our work happens by video or phone, so you do not have to drive anywhere. When it is time to sign, we hold a Signing Party, where your documents are signed, witnessed, and notarized with every formality Florida law requires. Depending on where you live, I attend in person or direct the signing with witnesses and a notary near you. My flat fees for basic plans are on the Fees page.