Choosing a “healthcare agent” might be one of the most important decisions you ever make.

An “agent” or “healthcare agent” is someone chosen by you to make medical decisions on your behalf, should you become incapacitated and unable to do so yourself. Depending on your particular needs and your particular estate planning documents, your agent might be able to assist at the end of life, making such decisions as whether or not to leave you on life support. – Or they might be able to make decisions during any medical procedure in which you find yourself incapacitated.

Regardless of your estate planning, whether you have a Living Trust, Healthcare Power of Attorney, HIPPA Authorization, or all the above – the big question is how do you go about choosing your healthcare agent?

There is no right or wrong answer in regards to who you designate, provided the person chosen is trusted by you to make decisions based solely on your wishes, morals, ethics, and intentions.

For this very reason, most people designate a family member or friend. Regardless of your choice however, simply appointing a person isn’t enough.

Agreeing to be your agent doesn’t guarantee the designee will make decisions which reflect your intentions. Your agent needs to know what is expected of them. By discussing with them your beliefs, fears and medical care preferences (in various situations), your agent will be empowered to make better decisions.

Conversations about personal beliefs, illness, and mortality can be difficult conversations to have. But these conversations are necessary if your agent is to properly represent you.

For more information on Living Trusts, Healthcare Power of Attorneys, HIPPA Authorizations, or any estate planning documents, please schedule a consultation with a qualified estate planning attorney.

With access available to online “legal” websites which provide mostly completed prewritten estate planning documents, the questions is, should you consider drafting your own estate plan?
The simple answer is “no, you shouldn’t.”
A more complicated answer however, is that the documents the “legal” websites provide are generally one fits all. Meaning, that if your needs fit exactly with their formatting, and if you don’t make any mistakes, then one of these documents might work for you.
The problem with this logic is that it’s difficult to know whether the formatting suits your needs without proper legal advice. Therefore, utilizing one of these documents is essentially gambling, using your estate as collateral.
For this very reason, you will be hard pressed to find any estate planning attorney who will ever recommend “doing-it-yourself,” even with the use of a website.
The harsh reality is the money saved by drafting one’s own estate plan (will, trust, power of attorney, etc.), is usually spent later for the purposes of removing errors, replacing documents entirely, or handling probate.
If you have to ask if you can “do-it-yourself,” you are not an estate planning attorney.
Being a capable estate planning attorney doesn’t just mean knowing laws, giving advice and providing answers. It also means knowing what questions to ask.
Most estate plans are unique as they are designed for individuals, and people’s individual stories are unique. Any one person might be single – married – or remarried. They might be part of a “traditional” or blended family. They might have a spouse whom they wish to leave everything – something – or nothing. They might have children splitting an inheritance equally – nearly equal – or not at all equal.
This individual might have a biological child suffering with substance abuse, or step children who are disabled.
A person may wish to leave everything to their spouse without a care as to what happens past that. Or they might want a provision stating that should their spouse die, everything be given to someone else.
The question is; would you trust someone who wasn’t a surgeon to perform your surgery? – Or someone who wasn’t a pilot to transport your family? – Or someone who wasn’t an electrician to wire your home? (If you answered yes to any of these questions, please be aware that although I am not a licensed psychologist, I am accepting new patients).
In all seriousness, errors can render your estate plan useless. The law is literal. The court doesn’t acknowledge the “it isn’t fair” excuse.
Even small errors have big consequences.
If you have a self drafted estate plan, please have it reviewed by a capable estate planning attorney.
As always, if you have any further questions about this subject or anything pertaining to estate planning; please schedule an appointment with a qualified estate planning attorney.

While some estate planning documents dictate who gets what when we die – others like the HIPAA authorization assist in the protection and care of our health should we become incapacitated.
Or to put it another way, the HIPAA authorization is designed to protect our quality of life.
Here is how it works.
In 1996 the United States Congress passed into law the Health Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA for short).
The purpose of HIPAA was and is to protect our medical privacy.
With the passage of HIPAA, it became necessary for medical providers to obtain written authorization before releasing a patient’s medical records to anyone, including family. And thus, the HIPAA authorization was introduced.
Why would you ever want your records released?
Well, let’s say for example you have an estate plan. You even have a healthcare power of attorney (the document which usually compliments the HIPAA authorization), and you become mentally incapacitated.
Since you have a healthcare power of attorney in this scenario, you have what is known as an “agent in fact” (someone appointed by you to make decisions for you should you become incapacitated).
If, for whatever reason you do not have a HIPAA authorization, your medical provider is legally unable to grant your “agent in fact” access to your medical records.
In which case, your “agent in fact” will have a difficult time making decisions on your behalf. And depending on what ails you (remember – you are incapacitated), she or he might have to seek the help of an attorney to obtain a conservatorship, even though you have an estate plan.
But rest easy. This is just a scary scenario designed to explain the document’s use.
Providing you have a good estate planning attorney, that attorney will make certain you have an understanding of all necessary documents fitting your particular wants, needs and protection.
If interested in the HIPAA authorization or any estate planning document, please schedule an appointment with a qualified estate planning attorney.

Valentine’s Day is here again!

It’s time for overpriced greeting cards, last minute rushes to the grocery store for picked over flowers, and displays featuring images of tiny babies shooting bows and arrows with heart shaped tips.

With Valentine’s Day fast approaching, Streeter Law Group has decided to submit for your approval, two estate planning tales of amore’ …

One story illustrates the usefulness of an estate plan, the other story, well … you’ll see …

Heinrich Heine was a German poet, journalist and essayist who lived between 1797 and 1856. Heinrich, whose views on religion and politics made him a rather controversial figure in his day, married Crescence Eugenie Mirat in 1841.

The two shared what was believed to be a very rocky marriage, but never divorced. As a matter of fact, it was believed they grew closer in Heinrich’s final year, as he suffered from and eventually succumbed to what was believed to be a venereal disease.

In his Will, Heinrich left his entire estate to his wife on one condition; that she remarry. As the legend goes, Heinrich told his friends the condition was included, “because then there will be at least one man to regret my death.”

Crescence Eugenie did in fact remarry … the same year she buried Heinrich. It remains unknown whether her new husband ever regretted the former’s death.

Robert Louis Stevenson was a famous Scottish novelist and poet. Stevenson is famous for writing Treasure Island and Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and was born November 13, 1850 (a fact which will prove quite significant to this story).

Stevenson died of what was believed to be a stroke on December 3,1894.

In his Will, Stevenson bequeathed something very special to his good friend, Annie H. Ide …

Ide, who was born the 25th of December, once complained to Stevenson about the inconvenience of being born on Christmas day. Therefore, Stevenson bequeathed to her his birthday to be used with “moderation and humanity,” due to the birthday “not being so young as it once was.”

Stevenson also used his Will for more practical purposes.

Happy Valentine’s Day!