Healthcare Power of Attorney for Minors – What You Need To Know

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When someone appoints you his or her healthcare power of attorney, it means that you can act on behalf of that person in the event that he or she is unable to make decisions concerning their healthcare. Most times, people take this measure for their own safety.

This may sound strange, but have you ever thought about appointing a healthcare power of attorney for your child? Well, you may not consider it a necessity and many people assume it’s just for older people. However, as Christopher Yugo discusses in the following post, a minor’s medical power of attorney is just as important. Here’s the opening to get you started:

Minor’s medical power of attorney

This past week my family and I spent a relaxing vacation in the mountains in eastern Tennessee. The mountain we were on didn’t have cell reception which was kind of a bonus. I guess not for those folks trying to reach me but it certainly worked out for my benefit.

This trip was a little different than normal Yugo family vacations because we added an additional member to our happy group; my son’s girlfriend Nicole. Adding Nicole took a little planning. Nicole is a vegetarian and my family are pretty committed carnivores so eating was a little challenging. Also, since the kids are both 16, I spent most of our hikes through the Smokey Mountains with one eye looking out for bears and the other one on the two 16-year-olds. Read full post at NWITimes.com

Healthcare power of attorney helps you as the parent, and anyone you may need to leave your children with for some time. It avoids a whole lot of complications as seen in the above post.

While this may apply when your child is a minor, or anyone you may be taking into your care for that matter, it is also helpful when your kids get older. When the time comes for your children to go off to college, a healthcare power of attorney is one way you can avoid being excluded in case an emergency comes up that involves your child. Read the following post for how this helps:

Will you be shut-out if your college-age child has a medical emergency?

The time when a child goes off to college can be a stressful time for any parent. You know that you are giving up substantial control over your child’s safety and choices, but you may be relinquishing even more control than you think.  When a child turns eighteen, a parent may no longer have access to the child’s medical records, or the status of a child’s condition in a medical emergency.

Although you will have to trust that your child is going to his or her classes or that he or she is making good decisions at a social event, in the case of a medical emergency, there is still an opportunity to be involved.  This is why it is highly recommend that every person over the age of eighteen sign an Advance Medical Directive and Health Care Power of Attorney naming their parent or guardian, or another trusted individual, as their Health Care Agent. The Health Care Power of Attorney allows the child to grant an agent or agents access to his or her medical information under HIPAA, and also to make medical decisions on the child’s behalf if he or she is unconscious or otherwise unable to do so. Read more at JDSupra.com

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Getting a healthcare power of attorney will allow you to intervene in emergencies that we all wish would never happen. It is always better to be safe than to be sorry.

Finally, there are some blind spots you want to avoid as you consider getting any type of healthcare power of attorney so that it does not become useless right when you need it the most. The following post sheds light on these and how you can avoid them:

Pitfalls of a Healthcare Power of Attorney & 3 Ways to Protect Yourself

A healthcare power of attorney is an important part of most estate plans, and for good reason. Through a healthcare power of attorney, a person can designate the individual responsible for making medical decisions on his or her behalf, should he or she become incapacitated. Individuals should be cautious, however, as a healthcare power of attorney comes with its own set of risks.

Healthcare power of attorney documents are not foolproof. Often, defects in these documents are not discovered until after the creator becomes incapacitated. For example, your agent under a healthcare power of attorney may not discover that your documents were executed incorrectly until the point that he or she attempts to make a decision on your behalf. Read more at Estate Planning

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Contact attorney Jonathan Meek today to protect your children with a healthcare power of attorney. He will make the process quick and easy for you. Call Meek Law Firm at (704) 848-6335 or use the contact form on the right of this page to schedule a consultation appointment.