Medical & Financial Power of Attorney
A power of attorney is legal authorization to make decisions on behalf of someone else. Powers of attorney can apply to personal decisions, financial matters, businesses transactions and decisions involving health care.
Because institutions such as hospitals, banks, nursing homes, insurance companies, and most other service providers require powers of attorney to be in writing, it is important that these important documents be carefully drafted by your family attorney after diligent consideration of your family’s needs and desires for the future.
Your attorney, Kevin Hancock, will discuss with you the unique characteristics of your family, business and future estate matters, and help you answer questions and concerns about matters that could arise in the future. As your trusted family attorney, Kevin will utilize his years of experience helping families through life transitions to help you anticipate difficulties that often arise after death or during a health crisis, and use the benefits of powers of attorney to eliminate possible pitfalls that occur.
Powers of attorney for spouses:
As we’ve all experienced, privacy laws have made it extremely difficult in recent years to conduct business or get healthcare information on someone else’s behalf, even for our spouse, and even when both spouses share the account, are on the insurance policy and when important medical decisions are on the line. Privacy is important, but what is more important is your spouse being able to make important decisions for you and your family if you are unable to due to illness or injury.
Imagine you are gravely ill and your spouse needs to cash out a CD or access a long-forgotten retirement account in order to pay for your medical treatment. But, your spouse was never named as a co-signer on the account. A power of attorney would allow your spouse to access the funds needed for your care and would eliminate needless red tape and stress in a time that is already fraught with worry.
Powers of attorney for parents and relatives:
When it comes to caring for those we love as they age, we all want to do the very best we can for our families. Making life-changing decisions regarding medical care and financial needs is difficult enough without having to worry about access to information and resources needed for the comfort, health and safety of those you love.
Encourage your parents and elderly relatives who will likely be in your care to sit down with you and your trusted family attorney to ensure your loved ones’ needs and desires can be carried out in the event they need help with making important decisions down the road.
Knowing that someone is in place to access financial resources and assist with important decisions will give loved ones peace of mind. And. having these conversations now, when times are good, honors the hard work that parents and extended family members have put into building their homes, businesses and families.
Preserving the legacy of those we love is a tremendous gift, so identify those whose future care decisions will fall to you and encourage them to make key decisions now to ensure their later days reflect their lifetime of hard work, diligence and good health.
Powers of attorney for unmarried adult children:
No one wants to imagine losing a child, but what is equally difficult and exponentially more frustrating is when your unmarried adult child is injured or ill and you cannot even speak to his/her doctor to find out what is wrong, how they are doing, much less guide their treatment. As parents, you are not automatically entitled to access to your adult child’s medical records or doctors. Unmarried adult children need powers of attorney in place so their parents or other trusted person of their choosing can access information and make financial and medical decisions on their behalf. The young always feel invincible. But let your attorney, Kevin R. Hancock, help you establish powers of attorney that ensure your needs will be met no matter what life brings.
Powers of attorney for disabled children and relatives:
People always care for their disabled children and relatives as if they will always be around to care for them. But, that is not always the case because disabled children and relatives outlive their caregivers all the time. Additional provisions for children and other loved ones with special needs are necessary to ensure their care continues if they outlive their parents or caregivers.
Your attorney, Kevin R. Hancock, can assist you to establish an estate plan, including powers of attorney, will, trust, and/or other legal structures to ensure continuity of care, assistance and support for those who depend on you for assistance.