Can a Healthcare Agent Decide Who Visits a Patient?
If you are an agent under a healthcare proxy for a loved one, you may be faced with some difficult questions and issues from time-to-time.
Incapacitation and Guardianship: Legal Proceedings Explained
In a previous blog, we discussed the important documents—healthcare proxy, living will, and power of attorney—that allow you to appoint people to make healthcare, legal, and financial decisions on your behalf should you become incapacitated. If you have not finalized those…
Think You Have to Disinherit Your Child with Special Needs? Think Again!
Many families assume it’s better to disinherit their child with special needs. Their intentions are loving—they don’t want the child to lose their government benefits as a result of inheriting; they don’t want to do their child more harm than good. They think it would be better to leave everything to their other children, trusting that those children will take care of the child with special needs.
Advance Directives: Planning for the Unexpected
Are you and your family prepared for the unexpected? In the event of a sudden illness or injury, advanced directives can save you and your family time, money, and emotional distress.
The three advanced directives everyone should consider are health care proxies, living wills, and powers of attorney, yet these precautions are often overlooked by married couples.
This year I have had the pleasure of working with a married couple who suffered an unforeseen and life-changing event: the wife suffered a debilitating stroke while undergoing a simple medical procedure, and she needed the type of care that is only available in nursing homes.
Preparing for the Winter: Legal Documents for Peace of Mind
Unless you have a crystal ball, it’s impossible to predict what the future holds. Should you become unable to make your own decisions, it is imperative to appoint someone to take care of your affairs and make healthcare decisions on your behalf. Additionally, in order to ensure that your assets are passed on to your loved ones without problems, high legal fees and time delays, it is important to start your planning today.
When Does Guardianship Become a Necessity?
In New York State there are three different types of guardianships:
- Guardianship under Mental Hygiene Law Article 81: Applicable to an adult who had capacity during their lifetime but has since experienced cognitive and/or functional limitations.
- Surrogate’s Court Procedure Act Article 17 Guardianship: Guardianship of a minor, applies to anybody under the age of 18 without a legal guardian. An Article 17 action assigns guardianship for a child only until they reach the age of majority at 18 years old.
- Surrogate’s Court Procedure Act Article 17A Guardianship: Applies to an adult without requisite mental capacity; adults with developmental disabilities, who are intellectually disabled, or who have a traumatic brain injury.
The Importance of Advance Planning for Special Needs Children
As parents, we are the natural legal guardians of our minor children. We do not need anyone else to give us the power to talk to our child’s doctor or open a bank account on their behalf. However, in New…
When does my authority as a Standby Guardian begin?
If you are a standby guardian in a Surrogate’s Court Procedure Act Article 17A guardianship (17A guardianship), you should understand your authority and responsibilities you have in that role. If the Surrogate’s Court appointed a guardian for an individual in…
Should an 18 year-old have an estate plan?
Teenagers today have cars, laptops, smartphones, tablets, and any other gadget or gizmo you could imagine. So, why not an estate plan? When your child or grandchild turns 18 years old there are a few important events that take place…
How Can I Minimize the Financial Stress of Caregiving?
Given the fact that 43 million people in the United States are currently caring for someone over 50 years old, there is no denying that our population depends on family support for our seniors. And providing this care is expensive…