Protecting Yourself, Your Business, and Your Loved Ones: Power of Attorney

It is just an average day, nothing seems out of place, until…the phone rings. It is the phone call that you never want to receive but dread receiving every day. Your spouse, child, or loved one is in the hospital and is unconscious. Arriving at the hospital you begin to feel the adrenaline running through your body. Then the doctor asks whether you have a power of attorney for health care decisions for your loved one. You answer “No” and now the doctor will not discuss with you what is happening.

Most individuals do not think of obtaining a power of attorney until they are married, until they have children, until a medical condition exists, or until it is too late. At these points in someone’s life, there is a belief that this document is necessary. Unfortunately, the inability to make your own decisions can happen at any time. Without a power of attorney, no one – not your spouse, parent, or adult child – has an automatic right to your medical records or can make medical or financial decisions. Your business partner has no automatic right to make business decisions on your behalf. When your child reaches the age of majority (which is 18 in Missouri), you can no longer automatically obtain their medical records or make decisions for them about their healthcare or financial needs.

If you do not have a power of attorney, anyone, including a parent, who wants to make healthcare or financial decisions on your behalf must file for a guardianship (for all care and placement decisions) and/or conservatorship (to manage assets) with the probate court. Continue reading »