How much do you really know about your loved ones’ legal, healthcare and financial affairs? Many adult children are not privy to such details.  It is prudent to anticipate your loved one’s eventual need for care and assistance. Often adult children are unaware of what legal and financial plans have been set in place by their older parents. When a health crisis occurs families often find themselves uninformed and unprepared. Talk to your loved ones about what plans they have made for themselves, what their wishes are for medical care and alternate living arrangements in the event this is needed. Consider asking your loved one to grant power of healthcare attorney status, which facilitates communication with all medical providers and hospital personnel in the event they are not able eto make their own decisions. Due to the private nature of the topic, especially for the older generation; it can be difficult to get information. Resolve to help your loved ones today by acquiring the information you need tomorrow!

Legal Issues: Finance and Healthcare

Many resources are available on how younger generations can open financial conversations with loved ones. It is often suggested to disclose one’s own plans for the future to start the conversation. An example ‘Dad, I have an appointment with a lawyer to prepare my will; this is what I am thinking about…What did you do?’ You may want to prepare for this discussion by having an idea of what outcomes you would like, whether your parents show you their will or write a new one with you involved in the planning. Remember this may not be resolved in one discussion. Developing a plan for finances and health care can take a long time. Try not to overwhelm your loved ones or yourself.

There are a wide variety of guides and tools available to help plan legal, financial or health care issues, including end of life planning. Some decisions, such as advance directives for medical decision making, are intended to be put in place before someone has lost the ability to make decisions.

Here are a few suggestions that can help you make sense of sometimes complicated issues.

• Encourage your loved one to discuss their wishes for dealing with financial assets before they lose their ability to make decision.
• Everyone has the right to make their own financial and health care decisions. To prepare for future illness or disability, everyone should have a will and powers of attorney in place. Trusts can also be considered in planning.
• Become aware of the range of alternatives for making financial, legal and health care decisions on behalf of yourself or your loved one. A helpful resource is Health and Financial Decisions: Legal Tools for Preserving Your Autonomy
• Encourage your loved one to complete advance directives, complete yours as well. Visit Consumers Toolkit for Health Care Advance Planning.
• Talk with your family and physicians about your loved ones’ health care wishes.
• Place a copy of the advance directives in an easy to access location and tell family where they are located
• Consult an elderlaw attorney to complete plans for the future according to the law of the state in which your loved ones lives.
• Investigate eligibility for benefits that may not have been previously considered. If you live in the Chicago area, CJE SeniorLife’s Benefits Enrollment Center can help you or your loved determine eligibility for such benefits. A Benefits CheckUp questionnaire is available on-line. 
• Become educated on the 2010 Health Care Reform legislation that will impact your family. 
   

Power of Attorney

A power of attorney (POA) is an authorization to act on someone else's behalf in a legal or business matter. If someone is incapacitated, the power of attorney will be obligated to act in the person’s best interest, making decisions and using the principal person’s money and property only for the principal’s benefit. Usually two types are granted: Power of Attorney for Healthcare and General Power of Attorney.

Healthcare Power of Attorney

An advance directive is a document giving direction to healthcare providers about treatment choices. There are two types of advance directives: living wills and healthcare power of attorneys. A healthcare care power of attorney, also referred to as a healthcare care proxy, is a medical power of attorney that allows an individual to grant another person, a proxy, the right and authority to handle matters related to his or her medical care. The difference between a healthcare care power of attorney and living will is that a healthcare care power of attorney appoints someone, and empowers them to make all medical and health care decisions. A living will is a written statement of a person's healthcare and medical wishes in the event of a terminal illness. Living wills only apply to decisions regarding life-sustaining treatment. It does not appoint another person to make healthcare or other medical decisions. If someone only has a living will document and no one is empowered to speak for the person, the document and the person’s wishes can easily be overlooked or misunderstood. This power of attorney for healthcare allows the healthcare proxy to make decisions regarding personal care, medical treatment, hospitalization, healthcare and medical procedures during a period of incapacity.

Power of Attorney

A durable power of attorney document continues in effect and/or takes effect when the principal party is incapacitated or disabled. The power of attorney allows the estate proxy to make financial decisions for the person including paying bills, spending funds and selling property. The grantor can limit powers to specific activities if they wish. These laws differ by State and can be examined at: www.nupplegal.com/health-care-power-attorney.html

Using a Power of Attorney

Powers of Attorney are meant to be copied and used by both the proxy and loved one.

• Introduce yourself as proxy to the doctor and provide the doctor with a copy of the Healthcare Care POA document.
• If your loved one is hospitalized, bring a copy of the healthcare POA to the hospital and ask the nursing supervisor on the floor to place it in the client’s chart. The POA provides contact information that is current.
• Introduce yourself to your loved one’s banker and provide the bank with a copy of the POA. It can be helpful if the POA is already a signatory on a checking account.