The majority of identity theft victims do not realize that they are a victim until it has negatively impacted their lives. Many people do not find out that their identities have been stolen until they are contacted by financial institutions or discover suspicious activities on their bank accounts.[27] According to an article by Herb Weisbaum, everyone in the US should assume that their personal information has been compromised at one point.[27] It is therefore of great importance to watch out for warning signs that your identity has been compromised. The following are eleven indicators that someone else might be using your identity.
A power of attorney must be signed by the principal and by two witnesses to the principal’s signature, and a notary must acknowledge the principal’s signature for the power of attorney to be properly executed and valid under Florida law. There are exceptions for military powers of attorney and for powers of attorney created under the laws of another state.
A grandfather may encourage his grandchildren to seek college or advanced degrees and thus transfer assets to an entity, such as a 529 plan, for the purpose of current or future education funding. That may be a much more tax-efficient move than having those assets transferred after death to fund college when the beneficiaries are of college age. The latter may trigger multiple tax events that can severely limit the amount of funding available to the kids.

A living will is a legal document that tells others what your personal choices are about end-of-life medical treatment. It lays out the procedures or medications you want—or don’t want—to prolong your life if you can’t talk with the doctors yourself. This could be because you’re under anesthesia for a scheduled surgery and had a complication or are unconscious from an accident or other event.

Both a Medical Power of Attorney and a Living Will act in the same way in that both cater towards a person’s medical wishes. A Living Will specifically handles end-of-life health care situations whereas a medical power of attorney covers a broad range of healthcare decisions and only goes into effect when a person becomes incapacitated (unable to think for themselves).
The principal may hold the power of attorney document until such time as help is needed and then give it to the agent. Often, a lawyer may fulfill this important role. For example, the principal may leave the power of attorney with the lawyer who prepared it, asking the lawyer to deliver it to the agent under certain specific conditions. Because the lawyer may not know if and when the principal is incapacitated, the principal should let the agent know that the lawyer has retained the signed document and will deliver it as directed. If the principal does not want the agent to be able to use the power of attorney until it is delivered, the power of attorney should clearly require the agent to possess the original, because copies of signed powers of attorney are sufficient for acceptance by third parties.
The purpose of a living will is to make your intentions known, so that your family and your doctors will be able to lawfully act in accordance with your wishes. Once completed, discuss your wishes as reflected in your living will with family members, and be sure they have a signed copy. A living will, or advance directive, is not a part of your Will, and must be completed separately.
Under English law (which extends to Wales but not to Northern Ireland or Scotland), the deception offences under the Theft Act 1968 increasingly contend with identity theft situations. In R v Seward (2005) EWCA Crim 1941[49] the defendant was acting as the "front man" in the use of stolen credit cards and other documents to obtain goods. He obtained goods to the value of £10,000 for others who are unlikely ever to be identified. The Court of Appeal considered a sentencing policy for deception offenses involving "identity theft" and concluded that a prison sentence was required. Henriques J. said at para 14:"Identity fraud is a particularly pernicious and prevalent form of dishonesty calling for, in our judgment, deterrent sentences."
A medical power of attorney is also known as a “health care proxy”— and this person acts as an agent to make medical decisions for you if you can’t talk to the doctors yourself. So instead of a piece of paper, you have a person you trust to speak on your behalf—acting in your best interests—while honoring your original wishes. So, you would need to have a conversation with them to make sure they know how you feel about important medical decisions.
Privacy researcher Pam Dixon, the founder of the World Privacy Forum,[16] coined the term medical identity theft and released the first major report about this issue in 2006. In the report, she defined the crime for the first time and made the plight of victims public. The report's definition of the crime is that medical identity theft occurs when someone seeks medical care under the identity of another person. Insurance theft is also very common, if a thief has your insurance information and or your insurance card, they can seek medical attention posing as yourself.[17] In addition to risks of financial harm common to all forms of identity theft, the thief's medical history may be added to the victim's medical records. Inaccurate information in the victim's records is difficult to correct and may affect future insurability or cause doctors relying on the misinformation to deliver inappropriate care. After the publication of the report, which contained a recommendation that consumers receive notifications of medical data breach incidents, California passed a law requiring this, and then finally HIPAA was expanded to also require medical breach notification when breaches affect 500 or more people.[18][19] Data collected and stored by hospitals and other organizations such as medical aid schemes is up to 10 times more valuable to cybercriminals than credit card information.

The information contained in this Website is provided for informational purposes only, and should not be construed as offering legal advice, or creating an attorney client relationship between the reader and the author. You should not act or refrain from acting on the basis of any content included in this Website without seeking appropriate legal advice about your individual facts and circumstances from an attorney licensed in your state. Rania Combs is licensed to practice law only in Texas. Rania Combs is physically located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina and meets with clients in Houston, Texas by appointment only.


Drugs.com provides accurate and independent information on more than 24,000 prescription drugs, over-the-counter medicines and natural products. This material is provided for educational purposes only and is not intended for medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Data sources include IBM Watson Micromedex (updated 2 Nov 2020), Cerner Multum™ (updated 2 Nov 2020), ASHP (updated 23 Oct 2020) and others.
In financial situations wherein a principal requests a securities broker to perform extensive investment functions on the principal's behalf, independent of the principal's advice, power of attorney must be formally granted to the broker to trade in the principal's account. This rule also applies to principals who instruct their brokers to perform certain specific trades and principals who trust their brokers to perform certain trades in the principal's best interest.[citation needed]
Includes: Last Will and Testament*, Durable Power of Attorney, Medical Power of Attorney, HIPAA Authorization, Living Will or Directive to Physicians, Appointment of Guardian (if necessary), Beneficiary Designation Instructions, detailed instructions on how to sign your documents in compliance with the Texas Statutes, and a periodic “peace of mind” review.
To keep things simple, having a medical power of attorney instead of a living will might make more sense for you. A medical power of attorney can decide what’s in your best interests based on what you would have wanted and still be flexible (unlike a piece of outdated paper). That way, you have the peace of mind knowing—in what could be an unpredictable situation—there is someone you trust making those medical calls on your behalf.
"The best people to turn to are those who have seen many iterations of living wills and have seen what works and what doesn't work. In other words, estate planners and doctors are in the best position to help you think through your choices and to understand how those choices could play out in real life," says Kimberly Hanlon, an attorney for Lucēre Legal LLC, a small business and estate law firm in Minneapolis.
·        I own my own law practice. Since neither my wife nor any of my children are lawyers, they cannot inherit the practice and much of the value of the good will of my practice will disappear the moment of my death. The fact that I am in business for myself and so much of the value of the business is based on my being there means that my wife and my children will not get the full value of my business after my death.
While you can appoint multiple agents, decide whether these agents must act jointly or separately in making decisions. Multiple agents can ensure more sound decisions, acting as checks and balances against one another. The downside is that multiple agents can disagree and one person's schedule can potentially delay important transactions or signings of legal documents.
No, it is not legal. If both of your parents had been diagnosed prior to the signing of the POA, they may be considered incapacitated or unable to care for themselves. If this is the case, at the time they signed the POA they would not be considered legally competent to sign any legal document on their own behalf. Contact a Lawyer. The POA is invalid. There may be grounds for felony charges against your brother.
There is an active market for buying and selling stolen personal information, which occurs mostly in darknet markets but also in other black markets.[40] People increase the value of the stolen data by aggregating it with publicly available data, and sell it again for a profit, increasing the damage that can be done to the people whose data was stolen.[41]
A power of attorney (POA) or letter of attorney is a written authorization to represent or act on another's behalf in private affairs, business, or some other legal matter. The person authorizing the other to act is the principal, grantor, or donor (of the power). The one authorized to act is the agent,[1] attorney, or in some common law jurisdictions, the attorney-in-fact.
Identity theft is the crime of obtaining the personal or financial information of another person to use their identity to commit fraud, such as making unauthorized transactions or purchases. Identity theft is committed in many different ways and the end result is that victims are typically left with damage to their credit, finances, and reputation.
No, it is not legal. If both of your parents had been diagnosed prior to the signing of the POA, they may be considered incapacitated or unable to care for themselves. If this is the case, at the time they signed the POA they would not be considered legally competent to sign any legal document on their own behalf. Contact a Lawyer. The POA is invalid. There may be grounds for felony charges against your brother.

A Living Will is a document used to describe how medical decisions should be made when certain health-related issues arise, especially when a person is dealing with a life-threatening condition. For example, should a person remain on life support if they have fallen into an irreversible vegetative state? That question can easily be answered by having a Living Will, as it will clearly state whether or not that person wishes to resume on life support in that situation.


If you’re helping someone with their estate planning (or doing your own), don’t overlook a living will. It can give invaluable guidance to family members and healthcare professionals if a person can’t express his or her wishes. Without a document expressing those wishes, family members and doctors are left to guess what a seriously ill person would prefer in terms of treatment. They may end up in painful disputes, which occasionally make it all the way to a courtroom.
FAIR CREDIT REPORTING ACT: You have numerous rights under the FCRA, including the right to dispute inaccurate information in your credit report(s). Consumer reporting agencies are required to investigate and respond to your dispute, but are not obligated to change or remove accurate information that is reported in compliance with applicable law. While this plan can provide you assistance in filing a dispute, the FCRA allows you to file a dispute for free with a consumer reporting agency without the assistance of a third party.
If the power of attorney was properly executed under the other state’s laws, then it may be used in Florida, but its use will be subject to Florida’s Power of Attorney Act and other state laws. The agent may act only as authorized by Florida law and the terms of the power of attorney. There are additional requirements for real estate transactions in Florida, and if the power of attorney does not comply with those requirements its use may be limited to banking and other non-real estate transactions. The third party also may request an opinion of counsel that the power of attorney was properly executed in accordance with the laws of the other state.
Life insurance serves as a source to pay death taxes and expenses, fund business buy-sell agreements, and fund retirement plans. If sufficient insurance proceeds are available and the policies are properly structured, any income tax on the deemed dispositions of assets following the death of an individual can be paid without resorting to the sale of assets. Proceeds from life insurance that are received by the beneficiaries upon the death of the insured are generally income tax-free.
Texas-based artist Edward Gustav Eisenlohr (1872 – 1961) came to Dallas at the age of two, where his father established Eisenlohr Drug Store. Eisenlohr drew inspiration for art subjects from the Oak Cliff area of Dallas and his travels to New Mexico, the Texas Hill Country, and the western areas of his adopted state. Eisenlohr was Ellen Dorn’s grandfather’s first cousin—in other words, his grandfather was her great great grandfather.
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