The Texas Power of Attorney Act, which is contained in Chapter 7 of the Texas Probate Code,[1] allows a resident to transfer financial and health care decision-making powers to another individual. Powers of attorney are very useful for anyone to have in place, no matter what one's age might be. The reality is that events can occur suddenly that make an individual unable to make certain decisions on their own. A power of attorney allows another person, who has been chosen in advance by the individual, to make those decisions for them.
A declaration of trust will also provide the basic terms of the trust. Your estate stays private and passes directly to your heirs, you do not pay a probate attorney or court costs, and your loved ones may be able to avoid being tied up in probate court for what could be a year or more. From this planner’s perspective, a trust can be a fantastic choice for estate transfer.
Child identity theft occurs when a minor's identity is used by another person for the impostor's personal gain. The impostor can be a family member, a friend, or even a stranger who targets children. The Social Security numbers of children are valued because they do not have any information associated with them. Thieves can establish lines of credit, obtain driver's licenses, or even buy a house using a child's identity. This fraud can go undetected for years, as most children do not discover the problem until years later. Child identity theft is fairly common, and studies have shown that the problem is growing. The largest study on child identity theft, as reported by Richard Power of the Carnegie Mellon Cylab with data supplied by AllClear ID, found that of 40,000 children, 10.2% were victims of identity theft.[20]
Related to the health care power of attorney is a separate document known as an advance health care directive, also called a "living will". A living will is a written statement of a person's health care and medical wishes but does not appoint another person to make health care decisions. Depending upon the jurisdiction, a health care power of attorney may or may not appear with an advance health care directive in a single, physical document. For example, the California legislature has adopted a standard power of attorney for health care and advance health care directive form that meets all of that state's legal wording requirements for a power of attorney and advance health care directive in a single document.[15] Compare this to New York State, which enacted a Health Care Proxy law that requires a separate document be prepared appointing one as your health care agent.[16]
If no less restrictive appropriate alternative is available, then a guardian may be appointed by the court for a person who no longer can care for his or her person or property. A person who has a guardian appointed by the court may not be able to lawfully execute a power of attorney. If an agent discovers that a guardian was appointed before the date the principal signed the power of attorney, the agent should advise a lawyer. If a guardianship court proceeding is begun after the power of attorney was signed by the principal, the authority of the agent of certain individuals is automatically suspended until the petition is dismissed, withdrawn or otherwise acted upon. The law requires that an agent receive notice of the guardianship proceeding. A power to make health care decisions, however, is not suspended unless the court specifically suspends this power. If the agent learns that guardianship or incapacity proceedings have been initiated, the agent should immediately consult with a lawyer.
The Texas Power of Attorney Act, which is contained in Chapter 7 of the Texas Probate Code,[1] allows a resident to transfer financial and health care decision-making powers to another individual. Powers of attorney are very useful for anyone to have in place, no matter what one's age might be. The reality is that events can occur suddenly that make an individual unable to make certain decisions on their own. A power of attorney allows another person, who has been chosen in advance by the individual, to make those decisions for them.
If no less restrictive appropriate alternative is available, then a guardian may be appointed by the court for a person who no longer can care for his or her person or property. A person who has a guardian appointed by the court may not be able to lawfully execute a power of attorney. If an agent discovers that a guardian was appointed before the date the principal signed the power of attorney, the agent should advise a lawyer. If a guardianship court proceeding is begun after the power of attorney was signed by the principal, the authority of the agent of certain individuals is automatically suspended until the petition is dismissed, withdrawn or otherwise acted upon. The law requires that an agent receive notice of the guardianship proceeding. A power to make health care decisions, however, is not suspended unless the court specifically suspends this power. If the agent learns that guardianship or incapacity proceedings have been initiated, the agent should immediately consult with a lawyer.
The Texas Power Of Attorney Form allows another appointed person, also referred to as the`Agent`, to make decisions over a patient`s health care treatment should they become so ill that they are no longer able to do so. This authority can be out right or can be limited by the principal to any lesser or greater extent they wish. The document requires either a notary or two witnesses. The document is in accordance with statutes §166.001 to -.166 in the state of Texas.
Estate planning is an ongoing process and should be started as soon as an individual has any measurable asset base. As life progresses and goals shift, the estate plan should shift in line with new goals. Lack of adequate estate planning can cause undue financial burdens to loved ones (estate taxes can run as high as 40%), so at the very least a will should be set up—even if the taxable estate is not large.
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.
There are several very low costs, or even free, online services available to draft documents commonly used during estate planning, such as wills, trust, durable powers of attorney and healthcare proxies. These online services, as presented, seem to be a very good alternative for most people. So, are the benefits of using an estate planning advisor is not worth the expense?
A living will is a legal document, also known as an advance health care directive, that details how you want to be cared for if something unexpectedly impacts your health and you wind up on life support. A living will also forces you to answer those unthinkable questions, such as whether or not you want doctors to do everything they can to keep you alive, even if the outlook is hopeless, or give them permission to let you go if you're incapacitated.
Many of the provisions in American law, described in the sections above, use terminology having different meaning from both common British usage and from the terms used in the Mental Capacity Act 2005. Examples are 'enduring power of attorney', 'advance directive', and 'notary public': in English law, these terms do not have the same meaning as they have in America.
One relatively new aspect of estate planning is digital assets. Things like email accounts, social media pages, blogs, websites, and media stored in the Cloud all qualify as digital assets, and you’ll need to decide who gets which assets after you pass away. Many of us now use Cloud services to store our family photos and videos instead of traditional photo albums and physical videos, so your family will want to be able to access these cherished memories.
Texas Power of Attorney Forms enables an individual to choose a trusting person, called an “agent” or “attorney-in-fact,” to make financial, medical, parental/guardianship (minor child), and vehicle-related decisions on their behalf. There are also special forms, referred to as “Durable,” that allow the document to remain effective even if the principal (person being represented) should become incapacitated. Use of the Durable forms ensures the principal that their health and finances will be managed properly regardless of their mental capacity.
The Texas general power of attorney form grants broad powers to an individual selected to handle business affairs, representation, and all real personal and property actions on another’s behalf. The form grants the exact same powers to the agent as the Durable form except that this document does not remain in effect if the principal should become incapacitated and unable to think for themselves. For…
The Texas medical power of attorney form allows a principal to name an individual to make all types of health care decisions on their behalf in the chance that they cannot do so because of mental incapacity. A physician can’t be an agent, and there are restrictions on choosing certain individuals professionally involved in the principal’s health care. When choosing an agent, local availability is…
Sweden has had relatively few problems with identity theft. This is because only Swedish identity documents have been accepted for identity verification. Stolen documents are traceable by banks and some other institutions. The banks have the duty to check the identity of people withdrawing money or getting loans. If a bank gives money to someone using an identity document reported as stolen, the bank must take the loss. Since 2008, any EU passport is valid in Sweden for identity check, and Swedish passports are valid all over the EU. This makes it harder to detect stolen documents, but still banks in Sweden must ensure that stolen documents are not accepted.
Identity theft has evolved far beyond just credit card fraud, and unfortunately is a rapidly growing crime that most people will be impacted by — either directly or indirectly — at some point in their lives. By learning about the types of fraud that exist and the best practices to employ, you can help avoid becoming part of the statistic — digital thieves stole $14.4 billion from US consumers in 2018.
Identity thieves sometimes impersonate dead people, using personal information obtained from death notices, gravestones and other sources to exploit delays between the death and the closure of the person's accounts, the inattentiveness of grieving families and weaknesses in the processes for credit-checking. Such crimes may continue for some time until the deceased's families or the authorities notice and react to anomalies.[31]
A Living Will, also known as a “health care directive”, allows a person to state their end-of-life medical treatment and care. This document does not hold any bearings after death, it solely directs physicians to care for a person based on what is stated in their Living Will, especially with issues such as DNR (do not resuscitate). Without this document, it’s difficult to judge an ill or incapacitated person’s end-of-life wishes.
In recent years[when?], commercial identity theft protection/insurance services have become available in many countries. These services purport to help protect the individual from identity theft or help detect that identity theft has occurred in exchange for a monthly or annual membership fee or premium.[32] The services typically work either by setting fraud alerts on the individual's credit files with the three major credit bureaus or by setting up credit report monitoring with the credit bureaux. While identity theft protection/insurance services have been heavily marketed, their value has been called into question.[33]
A Living Will, also known as a “health care directive”, allows a person to state their end-of-life medical treatment and care. This document does not hold any bearings after death, it solely directs physicians to care for a person based on what is stated in their Living Will, especially with issues such as DNR (do not resuscitate). Without this document, it’s difficult to judge an ill or incapacitated person’s end-of-life wishes.
An agent is someone who carries out the wishes stated in your Living Will or Power of Attorney. A good candidate for an agent could be a family member or a close friend. A daughter or son, for example, would be a good choice, as they are expected to outlive your life. An agent cannot be your physician or anyone that directly administers health care to you. As your agent, this person must follow the instructions set out in your document and can also make judgment decisions when uncertain situations arise.
Third parties are often concerned whether the document is valid. They do not know if it was executed properly or forged. They do not know if it has been revoked. They do not know if the principal was competent at the time the power of attorney was signed. They do not know whether the principal has died. Third parties do not want liability for the improper use of the document. Some third parties refuse to honor powers of attorney because they believe they are protecting the principal from possible unscrupulous conduct. If your power of attorney is refused, talk to your attorney.
In Massachusetts in 2009-2010, Governor Deval Patrick made a commitment to balance consumer protection with the needs of small business owners. His Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation announced certain adjustments to Massachusetts' identity theft regulations that maintain protections and also allows flexibility in compliance. These updated regulations went into effect on 1 March 2010. The regulations are clear that their approach to data security is a risk-based approach important to small businesses and might not handle a lot of personal information about customers.[70][71]
The only legal requirements to be an agent are that the person is of sound mind and at least eighteen years of age. Your agent must be someone whom you trust. Your agent has the legal obligation to act in your best interest, to keep records of transactions, not to mix your property with his, and not to engage in any conflict of interest. However, an agent still has the potential to act unlawfully, so it is important to trust the person you select.
Update sharing and firewall settings Firewall: security monitoring software that analyzes and blocks or allows information traveling between the internet and your computer based on a defined set of security rules. when you're on a public wi-fi network Public WiFi Network: (WiFi hotspot) a network that anyone can use to connect to the internet or other networks. . Use a virtual private network (VPN) Virtual Private Network (VPN): a private network that connects your computer or mobile device to the internet and encrypts (codes) your information to protect your internet activity from monitoring or spying. , if you use public wi-fi.
