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Healthcare Powers of Attorney

A Healthcare Power of Attorney, also known as an Advance Directive for Healthcare, is a document that is essential for every person 18 years of age or older.

Imagine This Scenario: Your "child" is 18. She leaves for college. She is in an accident or has a medical issue that renders her unconscious. You call the hospital to check on your child and the hospital informs you that "they are unable to give out that information." Your child is eight hours away.

If your "child" had signed a Healthcare Power of Attorney naming you to make medical decisions for her before leaving for college, you could have faxed or e-mailed her Healthcare Power of Attorney to the hospital, and, by law, you could have requested information about her condition and made decisions for her if she was unable to do so
for herself.

We include a Healthcare Power of Attorney in our estate planning packages. It names the person or persons you wish to have make your medical decisions for you if you become unable to do so. A Healthcare Power of Attorney also states whether you wish to be put on life support or not and if you want your organs donated. It also gives the person(s) you've named the ability to access your medical information.

Many people believe that if they are a spouse, partner, parent, child, or grandchild of an individual, doctors and hospital staff will listen to them and give them all the information they request. This is not always true. Especially due to the passage of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act ("HIPAA"), which was passed in 1993, doctors and hospitals are very private with patient information.

If you already have a Healthcare Power of Attorney, make sure that it includes "HIPAA" provisions. Many attorneys did not start implementing these provisions into their documents until 2004.

To view a short video by Long Beach Estate Planning Attorney John T. Anderson on the importance of a Healthcare Power of Attorney, Click Here.

Contact our office for more information on California estate planning and to have your Healthcare Power of
Attorney prepared.

DISCLAIMER: The information contained in this website is intended to inform the reader, generally, of issues in California estate planning, trust, and probate law and is not to be the final resource, and should not be considered legal advice. The information is not intended to be all-inclusive. To obtain detailed information or advice regarding a specific legal problem, you should contact a qualified attorney in your geographic area and state. Although attorneys John T. Anderson, Lisa R. Norman, and John T. Anderson, Jr. (“Attorneys”) intend that this website be correct, complete, and up-to-date, they do not guarantee it to be. It is not intended to be a source of legal advice, thus the reader must seek out specific advice, from competent counsel. Attorneys do not intend links on this website to be referrals or endorsements of the linked entities. Sending e-mails to John@trustlaw.ws or other e-mail addresses associated with attorneys or staff at The Law Office of John T. Anderson does not create, and receipt does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship. No representation is made that the quality of the legal services provided by Attorneys exceeds that provided by other lawyers. To the extent that this website is deemed an “advertisement,” Attorneys advertise only in California and do not seek to represent a person based solely on that person’s visit to this website. Attorneys are licensed to practice law only in California and are willing to appear in courts only in California. Attorneys maintain one office located in Long Beach, California.

The Law Office of John T. Anderson
1741 E. Wardlow Rd., Long Beach, California 90807