3 Must-Have Legal Documents
When it comes to critical medical care decisions, it’s best that your family is prepared before these documents are needed.
When it comes to critical medical care decisions, it’s best that your family is prepared before these documents are needed.
Patrice Thorpe, Owner & Creator
If you spend too much time thinking about a thing, you'll never get it done.
Bruce Lee
Since March 2020 when Covid-19 forced all of us to change our lives, many have begun to think about the future and how prepared we need to be for financial, health, legal, and emotional situations.
Have you made a will? Do you have property that should be in a trust? Are you up-to-date with a Living Will and HIPAA documents? Have you appointed a Medical and/or Financial Power of Attorney?
In 2010 my 83-year-old father had knee surgery which led to a series of strokes while hospitalized. I found myself willingly overseeing my parents' lives for the next 8 years.
They had issues with Social Security, Medicare, HIPAA, Military Benefits, Assisted Living and Memory Care, personal property and bills, as well as POA, trusts, and basic everyday living.
If you have ever had to deal with even one of the above, you know how difficult and frustrating it can be for the family.
My website is Aging Takes Planning. These pages will concentrate on one aspect and give you some tools.
Life is one storm after another. We are either in a storm, coming out of a storm, or about to go into a storm.
I want to take a moment to encourage you to consider three essential documents that can truly make a difference in your life and the lives of your loved ones. These documents are a Medical Power of Attorney, a Living Will, and a HIPAA Release Form.
These documents may not be easy to think about, but they are incredibly important for your peace of mind and the well-being of your loved ones. Taking the time to prepare these documents is a true act of love and consideration for your future and theirs. Please, consider having these documents in place; they are a priceless gift of security and care for those you hold dear.
Patti Thorpe
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There are three must-have documents that are used to let your loved ones know which life-sustaining medical procedures you want. They are:
Each must-have medical document serves its own purpose. Family members can be barred from getting important information from hospitals and doctors, leaving them unable to make decisions for you. Your family could, in some situations, have to go to court and petition for guardianship. This is costly and very time-consuming.
When it comes to critical medical care decisions, it’s best that your family is prepared before these documents are needed.
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A medical power of attorney — also known as a health care proxy or health care agent — is someone who makes health care decisions for the principal if they’re incapacitated. It’s their job to ensure a person’s wishes, as stated in their advanced directive or living will, are upheld in case of end-of-life care.
A medical POA only goes into affect when a person is deemed incapacitated. The agent named is responsible for ensuring health providers follow instructions from the person’s medical power of attorney documents. They also have authority over:
Just remember, this document must be created while you are of sound mind and capable of granting this power to your chosen agent.
I can’t express strongly enough how crucial this document is to both family and patient. Medical facilities will ask for it before admission. Don’t wait to get started!
Note: You do NOT need an attorney to create a valid POA.
I printed mine from a website. I filled it out to name by brother as my MPOA. We went to our bank and had a notary record, date and stamp the document. The bank will ask two employees to sign as witnesses.
The bank will also record the transaction in a notary record book for additional documentation.
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Preparing a Living Will – Another Must-Have Document
Has your doctor asked if you have a living will? Did you promise to make one? If you have been admitted to a hospital, they probably asked about your living will. Have you taken an older relative to the hospital and had the intake person ask for a living will?
Yes, aging takes planning. A living will outlines your health care/medical instructions when you are no longer able or competent to communicate while you are still alive.
This document is a must-have for everyone in your family. Yes, everyone! It will take away stress and stop squabbles. No one wants to fight when there’s a medical situation at hand. The living will outlines clearly what you want to happen in these situations.
This is can be a particularly difficult form to complete – not because of the form itself, but there are decisions you must make that can be difficult. It must be done when you are able to understand the options.
My brother and I sat at our father’s hospital bedside and completed his Living Will for the VA hospital. Dad was able to give each question some thought and discuss his choices. Most of the time he said, “Unplug me.” Our dad was a very no-nonsense kind of guy, but he had a sense of humor.
While his reply is certainly one of your choices, we found that the circumstances surrounding the questions were a bit more thought-provoking.
You may find that as time passes, your choices may change. Be sure to review all your documents once a year to make any necessary changes.
Go to the Resources page at agingtakesplanning.com to see an example of a Living Will.
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We often think of our children away at college as our dependents, which they are to the IRS. However, they are usually adult age and will be treated as such in most circumstances.
The keyword here is ADULT. You need to have all of these must-have documents for your adult children. Have them drawn up before they leave the nest.
Even when they’re young, aging takes planning, so get them on the right path early!
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Have you had a loved in the hospital and "they" won't tell you their condition?
It's quite frustrating but the medical staff is required to follow HIPAA. The law is to protect the patient's confidentiality. And their employer.
It primarily sets the standard for sensitive patient data protection. Companies that deal with protected health information (PHI) must have physical, network, and process security measures in place and follow them to ensure HIPAA Compliance.
Simple language? Every medical, insurance, financial, or legal business had better have all the safeguards in place and be using them to protect you, the patient.
The medical record information release (HIPAA), also known as the ‘Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act’, should be included in each person’s medical file.
This document allows a patient to list the names of family members, friends, clergy, health care providers, or other third (3rd) parties to whom they wish their medical information be made available.
If anyone would ask for medical information regarding a specific patient and their name is not listed on the HIPAA form, they would not be privy, by law, to any of the patient’s information under any circumstances.
The document also provides the ability for healthcare providers to share information with each other.
This document may be revoked and/or reassigned at the discretion of the patient at any time.
The link below will give you more comprehensive information.
The second link is a list of HIPAA forms by state.
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Your Personal Planning Checklist will help you identify some of the many elements that should be included for your Aging Takes Planning.
These are the elements you need to ensure that your family affairs are organized and ready to share with those who, one day, will need them.