Video Summary

Who should I appoint as my healthcare surrogate? First, what is a healthcare surrogate?  A healthcare surrogate is someone you appoint to make healthcare decisions for you and usually in the healthcare surrogate form, it’s whenever you’re unable to make healthcare decisions. That person should be someone who is close to you and understands your desires and wishes, certainly your spouse would be, I would think primary. If you don’t have a spouse or significant other, if you have a child that is particularly nurturing or helps you with your medical problems or appointments and is aware of it, I think that they would be a great candidate. Also if you have any one of your children or family or friends who are nurses who are involved in the healthcare profession.

I also put in, whenever I designate or fill out the healthcare surrogate form, what they call a HIPPA waiver, because this person will be the one that will be the point person for your relatives and friends who want to know how you’re doing, because the medical community cannot release information to anyone without a HIPPA waiver. We usually attach a HIPPA waiver to your healthcare surrogate form so that they will release medical information to your healthcare surrogate. Hopefully, that will give you some sort of guidelines. Certainly don’t name the healthcare surrogate as the same person as your Power of Attorney who will handle financial matters and that you would want to designate someone that has a little more business expertise and that may not be the same person.

If you would like to have a healthcare surrogate done or some estate planning, give me a call at 727-847-2288.  Thank you.

Video Summary

Well, you don’t obtain a Power of Attorney for someone. Someone must grant you or sign a document called a Power of Attorney appointing you as an agent. So if you have a loved one or a party that is in the hospital that is incompetent, you cannot get a Power of Attorney for them and that they must be competent when they sign the Power of Attorney. The Power of Attorney statute was changed in 2011 which gave various rights which have to be initialed off on, which are called superpowers. And a Durable Power of Attorney survives the incapacity of someone; however the person must be competent whenever they sign the Power of Attorney. So you cannot obtain a Power of Attorney over someone, they must sign it when they’re competent and grant it to you and then you serve as their agent. You cannot use the Power of Attorney or you’re not supposed to use the Power of Attorney to transact business in your behalf, such as transferring assets into your name without consideration, or if you’re dealing or having a business transaction you need to be very cautious and make sure it’s at arms’ length. So if you need to have a Power of Attorney, give me a call at 727-847-2288.

Video Summary

What are the benefits of a health care savings account? Well this question is probably better asked to your human resources person where you are employed. It’s an alternative to providing health insurance or can be a blended arrangement whereby your employer puts a certain amount of money into your account every month. Therefore, you can use that money for any health care needs you want.

After a certain amount, which is usually a fairly high deductible, then your health insurance would kick in as far as that’s concerned.  But you can use this for dental or prescription drugs, anything you’d like as far as your discretionary.

It’s particularly beneficial to people who are very healthy and don’t go to see the doctor very often, other than an occasional physical and don’t get sick, because the money builds up in that account. And so you can use it for cosmetic surgery or dental work or whatever you would like. It’s not particularly beneficial to people who have prescription drugs that are particularly expensive; usually the money that’s deposited isn’t sufficient to cover the amount that the employee has to pay.

So it’s something that your employer does for you or to you in conjunction with providing health insurance for you. So you probably don’t need to call and talk to me about this but that’s my take on a health care savings account. You probably need to talk to the human resources department where you are employed and ask them to give you more information about it. And it’s an alternative to your medical insurance or deductible.

So good luck with that! You can always call me about your legal needs.  It’s 727-847-2288.

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Video Summary

Good afternoon.  My name is Tom Mitchell.  I’m a partner with the law firm of Waller & Mitchell.  We’re located at 5332 Main Street in Downtown New Port Richey.  I’m an elder law specialist.  That means that I do wills, trusts, powers of attorney, living wills, healthcare surrogate documents, trust and estate administrations, public benefits qualifications, and guardianship work.

Okay.  All you 50 and 60-year-olds out there, how are your 70 to 90-year-old parents doing?  Are you concerned that they’re going to have enough money to last the rest of their lives?  Are they concerned that they’ll have enough money to last ‘til the end of their lives, and that there’ll be something left to give to you when they die?

If so, you need to consider consulting with us about asset protection.  There are a number of federal and state programs that provide assistance to seniors who need help.  These are generally means-tested program, which mean that you can’t have more than a certain amount of assets or a certain income level.

At Waller & Mitchell, we know how to get you qualified for those programs.  And in some instances, we can accelerate that eligibility by legally transferring the money from the older generation to the younger generation, without incurring a penalty.

So if you’re interested in trying to help your parents live a better life and insuring that their goal of leaving something to their children and grandchildren is accomplished, please give me a call at Waller & Mitchell.  The number is 727-847-2288.