Advance Health Care Directives for Important Decisions
If we want our dying to be meaningful and merciful, it is imperative that we think about it while we still can. Most of us want to die at home, in a familiar and peaceful setting surrounded by loved ones. We would much rather not spend our last moments in an emergency room or ICU, with strangers futilely pounding on our chests and our families relegated to the waiting room. With those two alternatives in mind, we need to do all we can to keep control, as much as possible, of decisions that need to be made long before our ... Read More
What Happens Once You Have Received the COVID-19 Vaccine?
Every day, more Americans are becoming eligible to obtain the COVID-19 vaccine. According to the medical community, vaccinated individuals are significantly less likely to contract COVID-19; however, they may pose a health risk to others. What then is appropriate behavior for vaccinated Americans when considering the health of others? For the moment, not much has changed. First of all, experts have told us that the COVID-19 vaccines take at least two weeks from receiving the second dose (or the single dose of Johnson and Johnson) to build up your immune response. The Pfizer vaccine offers 95 percent efficacy, while the ... Read More
Reimbursement of Funeral Expenses due to COVID-19 Deaths
If you had a loved one die from COVID-19, you may be eligible for the reimbursement of their funeral expenses. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is currently taking applications for funeral costs that were acquired after January 20th, 2020, from a person who passed away from COVID-19 in the United States or a territory of the United States. The purchase of a casket, urn, headstone, burial plot, cremation, interment of ashes, and or transfer of remains are all eligible for reimbursement. Qualified applicants may receive up to $9,000 per funeral as long as their total reimbursement does not exceed $35,500. ... Read More
Ensure the True “Power” of Your Power of Attorney for Finances
It’s critical that you have a strongly written Durable Power of Attorney for Financial Purposes ("POA") in case you become unable to manage your finances as part of a Long-Term Care Compliant Estate Plan. Beware if you rely only on POAs that hospitals provide, or that you have pulled off the Internet, or was prepared by a non-attorney or that you have got from other attorneys who do not focus their practice specifically on elder law and long-term care estate planning. When an emergency arises, the bank or health-care provider may refuse to allow your agent to act – and ... Read More
How Turning 18 Means It is Time for an Estate Plan
In most states, when your child turns 18, it might be hard to imagine that little child who once needed you for everything has now become – overnight – an adult. Now your child is free to vote, marry, apply for a credit card, make medical and financial decisions, sign contracts, and live independently. No wonder the law calls this coming of age “emancipation.” But if your adult child is hurt in an accident and needs somebody to make critical medical decisions, you cannot be the one to do that without your child having named you as an agent under ... Read More
Youth Must be Served
Our children tend to think they’re invincible, and that they’ve got it all figured out – particularly once they hit 18, right? While that milestone is exciting, it also exposes our adult children to a new set of dangers. Consider the case of my nephew – while attending college in Pasadena, he was hit by a car while riding his bike and ended up in the hospital. Since he was 19 at the time, the hospital, citing HIPAA regulations, refused to release information about him to his parents. The well-intentioned but seemingly Draconian implications of this privacy law provide for ... Read More
The End of Life Option Act – What You Need to Know
Since 2016, California’s End of Life Option Act (EoLOA) has provided terminally ill, decision-capable adults with an option to legally and safely end their suffering. But the law isn’t as simple as choosing to end one’s life; the petitioning individual must meet specific criteria and follow the steps exactly as prescribed by the law to receive the California law’s protection. As should be the case with something as critical as choosing to end one’s life, this law isn’t meant to make it easy, it’s meant to make it available. Even then, there are natural barriers to its use as well ... Read More
Why It Is Important To Have End Of Life Treatment Options And Prepare An Advance Health Care Directive
In light of the recent Covid 19 Healthcare Crisis that, worldwide, has claimed over 237,000 lives, it is important to ensure that your medical wishes are well-known and documented. The best practice to do so is to prepare a California Law compliant Advance Healthcare Directive, sometimes referred to as a Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care or a Living Will. An Advance Healthcare Directive will ensure that if you cannot give informed consent or denial any longer, that your medical wishes are adhered to up to and including the final moments of your life. It allows you to appoint ... Read More
