Botti & Morison Experienced Estate Planning Attorneys
  • Home
  • Client Portal
  • Webinars
  • Resources
    • Blog
    • Estate Planning News
    • Videos
  • Services
  • Attorney Experience
  • Testimonials
  • Contact Us

Youth Must be Served

12/23/2020

0 Comments

 
Picture
Our children tend to think they’re invincible, and that they’ve got it all figured out – particularly once they hit 18, right?  While that milestone is exciting, it also exposes our adult children to a new set of dangers.
 
Consider the case of my nephew – while attending college in Pasadena, he was hit by a car while riding his bike and ended up in the hospital. Since he was 19 at the time, the hospital, citing HIPAA regulations, refused to release information about him to his parents. The well-intentioned but seemingly Draconian implications of this privacy law provide for only one exception concerning the release of one’s “personal health information”: parent-to-minor child. Consequently, although the application of it in my nephew’s case was harsh, it was proper under the law, since he was an “adult.”
 
Or what if an adult child becomes incapacitated – who has the right to handle their financial affairs during that period of incapacity?
 
The answer is frustratingly simple: unless one has the appropriate documents to avert it, an incapacitated adult (i.e., anyone over the age of 18) will be subjected to a conservatorship proceeding to empower someone to manage their financial and medical affairs. And while parents will most likely have the “inside track” in such a proceeding, judges are unpredictable. Furthermore, this type of proceeding is fraught with indignity, delay, publicity and expense.
 
Once again (see previous blogs), our maddening system has provided us with an easy “fix:” everyone over the age of 18 should be equipped with a simple combination of documents: a Durable Power of Attorney for Financial Purposes and an Advance Health Care Directive. This pair of documents serves to pre-ordain who will have the legal right to manage the finances of an incapacitated adult, as well as dictating how one should be treated by medical professionals and who has the right to receive one’s  personal health information and to act as an incapacitated patient’s advocate.
 
As parents, we go to great lengths to protect our children; doesn’t it make sense to be sure that they’re protected in the event of an accident? It’s truly remarkable how much aggravation this critical pair of documents can spare the parents of adult children – do your children as well as yourselves a huge favor by helping them execute these two documents. Naturally, we hope they’ll never need them, but the peace of mind you’ll realize is priceless.
 
We’re here to help – if you have any questions about this topic, feel free to give us a call (877-585-1558), email us or register to one of our free webinars. 

​Paul Morison 

0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Authors

    The majority of our articles are written by our attorneys: Christopher Botti and
    ​Paul Morison

    Archives


    • Youth Must be Served
    • Proposition 19 and its Dramatic Changes to the Property Tax Reassessment Landscape
    • One Size Doesn't Fit All
    • The Secure Act and its Estate Planning Implications
    • Considering Co-Successor Trustees?​
    • To A/B, or Not to A/B, That is the Question
    • ​Testamentary Capacity
    • The End of Life Options Act
    • The Laws of Intestacy
    • The Use of Ethical Wills
    • How to Defeat Capital Gains Tax
    • Federal Estate Tax
    • The Dangers of Joint Tenancy
    • Why it is it important to Have End of Life Options and Prepare a Health Care Directive​

Working Hard to Protect What You Worked Hard to Build™


    Subscribe to our Estate Planning News:

Sign me up!
Botti & Morison Estate Planning Attorneys, Ltd. BBB Business Review
Picture

Questions? We're here to help.


Telephone

877-585-1885

Email

info@bottilaw.com
  • Home
  • Client Portal
  • Webinars
  • Resources
    • Blog
    • Estate Planning News
    • Videos
  • Services
  • Attorney Experience
  • Testimonials
  • Contact Us