An individual’s estate plan should include legal documents that authorize a person of your choosing to make the necessary financial and health care decisions for you in the event you are unable to make your own decisions. Every adult individual…
As your child prepares to graduate from high school, you have a laundry list of things that you will do for them. From completing those college applications to getting them Prom ready, you have your hands full. Before you send…
A guardianship proceeding can be very expensive, very time consuming, and very emotionally and physically draining—for the person who needs a guardian and the family members as well. Why is this? Take a look at the reasons below: You have to file a petition…
As divorce, blended families, and second and third marriages become more common in our society, the questions of how these changing family dynamics will impact our aging population have become more complicated. The issue of divorce becomes especially complicated when…
In New York, there are only two guardianship proceedings for adults, namely Surrogate’s Court Procedure Act (SCPA) Article 17-A guardianship, and Mental Hygiene Law (MHL) Article 81 guardianship. Although the basic premise for these two guardianship proceedings is the same…
To the average person, there may not seem to be much of a difference between an agent under a power of attorney and a court-appointed guardian, since both are third parties that could be authorized to handle financial and legal…
In Do I Need a MOLST Form? Part 1, we discussed who might need a MOLST form and in which situations. Below we’ll discuss how a MOLST form is executed.
There are certain medical requirements that need to be met in order for a MOLST to be in place for the patient with developmental disabilities.
There are three types of guardianship proceedings in New York State:
If you are an agent under a healthcare proxy for a loved one, you may be faced with some difficult questions and issues from time-to-time.
In a previous blog, we discussed the important documents—healthcare proxy, living will, and power of attorney—that allow you to appoint people to make healthcare, legal, and financial decisions on your behalf should you become incapacitated. If you have not finalized those documents before you become mentally or physically unable to make decisions, then a guardianship proceeding will take place.