There are several types of Advance Health Care Directives available to Texas, including a Directive to Physician, Medical Power of Attorney, Do Not Resuscitate Orders, Declaration for Mental Health Treatment, etc. These appoint someone to make your medical care decisions for you, permits the sharing of otherwise confidential medical information, etc. This is where you might tell your relatives to “pull the plug” if you are in an irreversible coma or at the end stage of a debilitating disease, etc.
Advance Health Care Directives - Adult Children:
With recent medical privacy laws, doctors and medical professionals are prevented from sharing most medical information for adults with anyone else, including family members. If you have children who are adults by age, but who are still your dependents - think college students - it can be important to have some sort of medical directive in favor of the parents. At the very least, parents should have a standing HIPAA disclosure for their children so that doctors can share medical information on adult children with their parents. When I prepare a medical directive for an otherwise-healthy young person, the papers will direct that heroic measures should be taken to preserve and prolong the life of a young person - in other words, do not “pull the plug” right away on a young person.
The estate plan package includes advance health care directive(s) for the client(s). Adult children directives or HIPAA documents can be added for a small additional cost.
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Office: 1700 Lemon Mint Ct., Austin, Texas (510) 396-1770 david@davidhowelllaw.com