By Barry Zimmer on April 12th, 2022 in Incapacity Planning
A well-constructed estate plan will address circumstances that can present themselves at the end of your life. It is not a pleasant picture to conjure, but many people become unable to communicate their own medical decisions when they are seriously injured or very ill.
The need for incapacity awareness from an estate planning perspective has a focus on people that are reach an advanced age. However, there is another facet you should take very seriously if you are the parent of a young adult.
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)
You automatically have medical decision-making authority for your children from the time they are born. As a result, you can assume that you will always be able to speak with their doctors and make choices on behalf of your children.
That’s true up to a certain point, but there is a consideration that you may overlook. As soon as your child reaches the age of 18, they are protected by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. Medical professionals must keep their health care records private.
As a result, you would not be able to act on behalf of a child after they reach the age of 18 unless you take the right steps in advance.
Young Adult Protection Plan
We recognize the potentially devastating situations that can arise when parents do not act in light of the implications of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. As a response, we created our Young Adult Protection Plan™ that includes a DocuBank In Case of Emergency (I.C.E.)™ card.
The first step is to execute the appropriate incapacity planning documents. Your child should create a living will to state their life-support utilization preferences. A health care power of attorney should be added to give you the legal right to act on their behalf.
Another piece to the puzzle is a HIPAA release that will give you the authority to obtain their medical information.
These documents will be uploaded into the DocuBank system. If the I.C.E. card that your young adult child will carry on them at all times is ever used, DocuBank will contact you immediately. This is 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.
Since the essential documents will be stored by DocuBank in the cloud, they can be easily accessed by medical professionals at any time. When you have the Zimmer Law Firm Young Adult Protection Plan in place, you can go forward with peace of mind.
Download Our Estate Planning Worksheet
As you can see from this post, there are details that you may overlook if you are not in this field. This is understandable, and this is why it is important to gain all the knowledge that you can to make sure that you preserve your legacy and protect your family.
With this in mind, we have created a worksheet that you can go through to gain a more thorough understanding of this essential process. It is being offered free of charge, and you can visit our worksheet access page to get your copy.
Attend a Free Seminar!
If you want to take a more significant step to build on your estate planning knowledge, you should attend one of our upcoming seminars. They are offered on a complimentary basis, and you will learn a lot if you attend one of these special events.
You can see the dates if you visit our seminar page, and if you decide to join us, follow the instructions to register so we can reserve your spot.
Ready to Act Now?
Learning is important, but at some point, it is time to work with a Cincinnati estate planning attorney to actually put a plan in place. If that time is now, you can call us at 513-721-1513 to schedule a consultation, and you can alternately send us a message through our contact page.