Posts Tagged ‘advance medical directive’


How to Approach Your Parents About Their Estate Plan

Friday, October 16th, 2009

Oast & Hook often hears from children who are concerned that their parents may not have an estate plan in place. Many children are concerned that they would not be able to assist their parents in the event a parent had a disability such as a stroke or dementia. Understandably, these subjects may be hard for children to discuss with their parents as children do not want to appear greedy, and the parents may fear loss of control or independence

How can an individual approach their parents about these issues? First, we recommend individuals update their estate plan including properly executed durable power of attorneys and advance medical directives. After individuals complete their plan, they often feel they can approach their parents by referring to the work they have completed with an elder law attorney. We also recommend asking about a general durable power of attorney and advance medical directive rather than a will. Those documents plan for the parents care while they are still alive and show a desire to see parents cared for while they are still here rather than focusing on who will get assets after the parents have passed.

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In Case of An Emergency

Friday, September 18th, 2009

We never know when an emergency situation might happen. Because of this, it is important for every person to carry emergency contact information in a wallet or purse.

If a person has a cell phone, then it’s easy to list people one would like to have contacted in the event of an emergency. Many people indicate their emergency contact information under the entry “ICE” (an acronym for “In Case of Emergency”) and then list the person’s name and telephone number. This is an excellent idea, and every cell phone user should identify the user’s emergency contacts. This is important because an individual could, for example, have an elderly parent’s phone number in the contact list for convenience, but the individual would not want the parent to be the first one contacted in the event of an emergency. An e-mail circulated a few years ago reported that that using the ICE entry could result in viruses being passed to cell phones or premium charges being billed to the phone; this was proven to be a hoax.

Many people, however, do not have cell phones, particularly the elderly. Further, cell phones can be lost, damaged, or emergency medical personnel may not have the time or the ability to access the contact list. As a result, everyone should have an up-to-date listing of the emergency contact numbers in their wallet or purse. This is why Oast & Hook provides every client who executes an Advance Medical Directive (AMD) with a wallet card that includes the telephone numbers of the agents under the AMD. This also serves as an emergency notification card.

An advance medical directive (AMD) is a healthcare power of attorney and a living will. Why should you to register your AMD? Research has found that 75% of the time you need your AMD, it is not available, for example, when you are in a hospital emergency room. Oast & Hook can register your AMD with DocuBank, a company that ensures that your AMD is available worldwide, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

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Advance Medical Directives

Friday, August 14th, 2009

Question - Is it important to have an advance medical directive as part of your estate plan?

Answer - Yes, an advance medical directive is an important piece of one’s estate plan. One of the fundamental rights enjoyed by every American is the right to bodily integrity; individuals have the right to decide what treatment they receive and what treatment they refuse. No one can do anything to an individual’s body that they do not authorize. The advance medical directive is an important legal tool that continues this protection after a person is no longer capable of making reasoned judgments. Recent changes in Virginia law have now established that the advanced medical directive is the primary means by which one controls what happens to oneself from the moment one is found by a physicians to be incapacitated until either recovery or death. Because this is often the period in which one requires the most extensive medical treatment, it only makes sense for individuals to make their wishes clear beforehand.

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What is Estate Planning?

Friday, June 5th, 2009

Estate planning is the process by which a person plans for the management of his or her assets, affairs and healthcare if he or she becomes disabled or dies. Prior planning produces positive results upon a disability or death. Failing to plan is planning to incur unnecessary problems, delay, taxes and expense.

There is a 58% probability that you will suffer a disability of 90 days or more during your life. It is certain you will die. Failing to plan commonly results in the imposition of default “remedies,” such as guardianships, conservatorships, and intestate succession. These default remedies frequently will not produce the results that you would have chosen. Failing to plan will often result in additional or unnecessary expenses, taxes, and delays.

The AARP reports that only 60% of people over age 50 have wills, 45% of these people have durable powers of attorney, 30% of these people have advance medical directives, and only 23% have living trusts. These statistics indicate that most people fail to make a comprehensive estate plan. And of those who have completed their estate plans, the odds are that they haven’t reviewed their plans in years.

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