Cooper Law LLC

Problem:   An individual wants to provide for how his or her estate will be transferred to his or her children or others, to appoint someone to make health care decisions if/when he or she cannot, to provide advanced health care directions, and to appoint someone to manage his or her affairs if s/he becomes incapacitated.

Solution: Attorney Cooper would be happy to guide you through the decision-making process required to prepare (i) your Last Will & Testatment, (ii) your Advance Health Care Directive, and (iii) a Power of Attorney (a “POA”).  Isaiah will help you decide on who should serve as the Executor of your estate under your Last Will & Testament, what care you want to receive if you end up with a terminal condition or are determined to be permanently unconscious, who you want to make health care decisions for you if and when you cannot do so for yourself (your health care representative), who you want to make decisions with respect to the care of your body when you cannot make those decisions (your “Conservator of My Person”) and whether you want to make a gift or your organs when you die.  Isaiah will also prepare a POA form which will allow you to appoint a person (or persons) to manage all of your affairs in your place.  You should know that a POA form may be effective either immediately upon being signed (execution) or may be a “springing” POA, which becomes effective only upon the occurrence of some future event, usually when you become incapacitated.  Some people feel safer with a “springing” POA because the person appointed (the “attorney-in-fact”) may not take action until the principal is incapacitated.  They are concerned that the person appointed will use the POA to take control of and steal their assets.  This means that the decision about who to appoint as your “attorney-in-fact” is a very important one.  A “springing” POA should also state who will determine whether the event has occurred.  If the future event is your incapacity and the “springing” POA does not state who will determine whether the principal has, in fact, become incapacitated, the Uniform Power of Attorney Act, as adopted in Connecticut (the “Act”), requires the determination to be made in a record provided by: 1. Two independent physicians stating that the principal has a mental, emotional, or physical condition that makes him or her unable to receive and evaluate information or make or communicate decisions or 2. A judge stating that the principal is missing, detained (including incarcerated), or outside the United States and unable to return. The Act authorizes a person chosen to determine incapacity in a POA to act as the principal's personal representative under the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and regulations issued under HIPAA in order to access health care information and communicate with health care providers.  The Act also provides a sample affidavit form which can be used if the POA authorizes someone to determine that an event or contingency occurred.