Young Adults and Powers of Attorney

You have graduated high school, turned 18 and are now facing college, trade school, military, etc.  Your parents no longer have the ability to make decisions for you.  Having a powers of attorney allow your parents to be in the position to help make decisions in case of an emergency.

 Parents – even though our baby has turned 18, our job is still not done.  While adjusting to not having them at home, Hardie Alcozer can help put your mind at ease by preparing documents for an emergency situation.

What are Powers of Attorney?

 There are two types – Medical and Financial.

 The Durable Power of Attorney can give your agent (Mom, Dad or both) permission to pay bills and take care of banking transactions.  This document gives you the option to make it effect as soon as you sign or effective when a doctor says you are incapacitated and no longer able to make decisions on your own.

 The Medical Power of Attorney gives your agent (Mom, Dad or both) the ability to make health care decisions for you when you are incapacitated. If you can make decisions on your own, this document is not in effect until your doctor says differently.

Why do I need these?

 Let’s say you are at a party and you have an accident on the way home.  You are in the hospital. Mom and Dad show up and want to make decisions for you.  Some hospitals will not listen to Mom and/or Dad if you do not have a Medical Power of Attorney.  This gives a lot of power to the hospital to make decisions for you without knowing what you would like to happen.

 Another situation – let’s say that hospital visit turns into a long term stay where continued care is needed.  Without a financial and medical powers of attorney, Mom and/or Dad would have to go to court (and pay quite a bit of money) to get a guardianship over you.  This process takes months. This can easily be avoided.

What if I am moving out of Texas?

 No worries!  Your Texas powers of attorney can still be used even if you are relocating. Some colleges have their own medical power of attorney form.  However, that document is only good for that particular school. 

 We recommend providing a copy of our forms to your college, trade school, etc. so they are prepared and aware of who to call in an emergency.

Can I just download a form online?

 As most doctors will say – stay away from Google for important decisions!  There are forms out there that can be downloaded.  But there is no guarantee that they have all of the necessary provisions.

I don’t understand what all of this means

 Have no fear!  Hardie Alcozer will not only prepare the forms for you; but, we also explain each document so that you clearly understand what you are signing.  

Signing powers of attorney does not take away your control.  Your parents have taken care of you for 18 years and made a majority of your choices for you.  Powers of attorney give Mom and/or Dad the peace of mind to know they can still help take care of you in an emergency situation.