#healthcare power of attorney

[bpp-law]

Health Care Decisions without Medical Power of Attorney:

If a person is unable to make decisions about personal medical care, some other person must provide direction in decision making.  Many people create a medical power of attorney in advance of any anticipated physical problems.  A power of attorney allows them to appoint an agent or representative to manage their affairs when they become unable to do so themselves.  However, if there is no medical power of attorney in place and no judicially appointed tutor or curator, then health care professionals usually rely on the next of kin or even a close friend as the decision maker.

What Happens if There is No Medical Power of Attorney?

Being able to make health care decisions for ourselves is so important to us, but what happens if you become incapacitated?  If you don’t have a health care power of attorney in place, state law chooses who can make those decisions.  La. R.S. 40:1159.4 provides the order of priority of who may make medical decisions in the absence of a power of attorney or court order:

Spouse, not judicially separated;

An adult child;

Any parent;

Siblings;

Other ascendants or descendants;

An adult friend.

[citadellawfirm]

The Critical Role of Advance Directives and Importance of Advance Care Planning in Arizona

https://clfusa.com/health-care-power-of-attorney/importance-of-advance-care-planning-in-arizona/

[geekeryisafoot]

Dear GOD the Hipaa violations* this chapter feel like nails on a chalkboard. All of this (Issho's scheming) could have been delayed and prevented if the medical staff respected Shiguma's medical privacy

(*Editor's note: op is aware that HIPAA is a US law and Akane Banashi is set in Japan. Japan is more flippant about medical privacy than the US but it still has APPI- Act on the Protection of Personal Information- which is supposed to help protect health info from making its way to your boss slash artistic rival who holds a grudge against you)

[canary-prince]

Quick Reference Guide to Durable Medical Power of Attorney and Decision-Making in American Healthcare

Decision Maker: Exactly what it says on the tin. Who makes choices about the patient's healthcare, the patient or somebody else? The ONLY times that a person besides the patient is the decision is when: a, the patient has verbally stated to the care provider present that they are deferring decision making to another person who is present; b, when two different doctors, psychiatrists, or psychologists have determined that patient is cognitively or mentally unable to exercise clear and safe decision making; c, the patient is in a coma or vegetative state and is unable to communicate in any way.

Mutism, deafness, mild dementia, and mild psychosis are not legally or ethically acceptable reasons to strip you of your rights. Communication barriers are not the same as the loss of the ability to reason. Suicidal ideation or a rejection of care (eg a patient requesting hospice) does not ethically or legally or medically qualify as grounds to strip you of your rights.

In the event that no advanced directives are in place, or allegedly in place but cannot be verified at the moment, default decision maker or "patient advocate" is "next of kin". This can be TRICKY for many, many reasons. That is why it is best to complete your advanced directives.

Durable Power of Attorney: A legally binding document in which the patient specifies ahead of time who should be named decision maker should they become unable to manage their own healthcare. These documents SHOULD specify your default decision maker, and a successor patient advocate.

"Why I need two?" Good question! They might be unable to contact your default decision maker, your default decision maker may find themselves unable or unwilling to follow your specified wishes and surrender the authority, or, in the case of accidents and tragedies and failure to update paperwork after someone dies, your successor advocate may also be unable to communicate and make decisions.

Additionally, there should be space to write out your wishes (eg do not keep me alive on machines, do not give me a pig heart even to save my life, donate my organs), and to specify if there are any powers you do NOT give your patient advocate. Many patients do not want advocates to have power over psychiatric care, for example.

"Who should have copies of this?" ONE in the PATIENT'S HOME, ONE in each ADVOCATE'S HOME, and ONE at your PRIMARY DOCTOR'S OFFICE. You need to be able to find it in five minutes or with one phone call. KNOW WHERE IT IS. If you can't physically put it in the doctor's hand or fax it to them, they have to assume it DOESN'T EXIST!

[arianasuchi]

of Power of Attorney

This is the website link I'd like connected to the attached image. Let me know if you need the image formatted differently. Thank you! Website: https://www.utahnotarynow.com/blog/fzmt6ow6qa2qhqvh15r6cixavaejeu

[nolanhattrick]

cats are THE most immovable object

[treemaidengeek]

This.

As @bemusedlybespectacled said, you don't have to be in love or having sex to get married. You just have to understand what rights and responsibilities go with marriage, and decide to enter into that contract with another person. I know an aroace guy who found another nice aroace person with compatible life goals & roommate styles, & got married to protect each other.

I will add as a former hospice chaplain that advanced directives outweigh ordinary next-of-kin law in terms of medical care. By default your decision makers if you become incapacitated are, in order (specifics vary by state) :

spouse / registered domestic partner & child(ren);

Parent(s) & Sibling(s);

other family.

Note that "friends" are NOT on that list. I have literally had to track down estranged family members to get legal permission for a patient's longtime cohabitating bestie to make their medical decisions for them. (We were already listening to the bestie as much as possible, but they weren't allowed to do some really critical things.)

I've also had to negotiate among feuding siblings because the patient hadn't clearly designated WHO they wanted to be in charge, so decisions had to be made by consensus in a deeply dysfunctional family.

I've even had patients legally designate someone who WASN'T their spouse or adult child as their decision-maker, because they felt those family members would be too overwrought to make good decisions for their healthcare. And it sticks.

this might be because I’m a family law lawyer and also an old crone who remembers when marriage equality wasn’t a thing (as in, marriage equality only became nation-wide two months before I went to law school), but I have Strong Feelings about the right to marry and all the legal benefits that come with it

like I’m all for living in sin until someone says they don’t want to get married because it’s ~too permanent~ and in the same breath start talking about having kids or buying a house with their significant other. then I turn into a 90-year-old passive-aggressive church grandma who keeps pointedly asking when the wedding is. “yes, a divorce is very sad and stressful, but so is BEING HOMELESS BECAUSE YOU’RE NOT ENTITLED TO EQUITABLE DISTRIBUTION OF MARITAL PROPERTY, CAROLINE!”

[roosterfinancial]

Estate Planning: The Basics You Need to Know

When it comes to securing your legacy, what steps have you taken? This might sound like a heavy question, but it’s crucial to consider. Estate planning is not only for the wealthy, but it’s also a practical step anyone can take to ensure their assets and loved ones are taken care of after their passing. Let’s dive into the basics of wills, trusts, and power of attorney, and unravel the enigma of…

[inheritancetax4]

Estate Planning In UK | Inheritance-tax.co.uk

“The arranging for the disposition and management of one’s estate at death through the use of wills, trusts, insurance policies, and other devices” – Merriam-Webster 

While estate planning is not a pleasant thing to think about, you must be worried about what will happen to your assets and loved ones after you pass away. 

A good estate plan has five components –

Will

Trust

Power of Attorney

Healthcare/Medical Directive

Beneficiaries

You would need an estate planning guide if you are unsure about your estate planning.

This is where we come in. We have expert estate planning services and advice for you.

For More Information Visit Us: https://inheritance-tax.co.uk/area/estate-planning/

[fullhalalalchemist]

URGENT: Congress about to pass a mass censorship and surveillance bill under the guise of "protecting children"

May 13 2023

The Senate has been in a "do something!" mode regarding children's online safety. They're using this as an excuse to push for widespread internet censorship and surveillance. The EARN IT Act, has a slimmer chance of passing with widespread opposition and some senators saying they won't vote for it. TLDR;The real threat is actually KOSA (s.1409), the Kid's Online Safety Act, which will mass censor and surveill the entire internet by giving all 50 state attorney generals the power to remove content that is "harmful" for kids, and force you to upload your govt ID online to access the internet. I'll explain how it works below the action items but it's absolutely urgent that anyone who likes having a free and open internet fights back. It's all hands on deck, because this has so much public support it's insane:

HOW TO FIGHT KOSA

CALL YOUR REPRESENTATIVES & THE COMMERCE COMMITTEE

This is a link to the Senate Commerce Committee phone numbers and a call script to read off of. (202) 224-3121 connects you to the congressional hotline

Opposition is getting drowned, and these upcoming weeks will be heavy for lobbying and they're using young people to do it. We NEED to show these senators that young people are actually opposed to this and don't want it.

2. Sign these petitions

Open Letter Against KOSA

Petition 1

Petition 2

Petition 3

Petition 4

Resistbot: Text PHJDYH to 50409

3. Spread the word.

The opposition is getting absolutely drowned online. Dove has nearly 100k signatures to push for KOSA. Influencers on tiktok are pushing for this without ever having read the bill. Fucking Lizzo is sponsoring it. If you have twitter, reddit, tiktok, are in any community, SPREAD THE WORD, PLEASE.

Here is a linktree with all the above petitions for easy shargin: Link to linktree

HOW KOSA WORKS

First, KOSA pressures platforms to install filters that would wipe the net of anything deemed “inappropriate” for minors. This means instructing platforms to censor. We saw how these filters impacted websites firsthand with tumblr in 2018, with not only blocking all adult content but also sfw queer content such as suicide hotlines, art archives, wiping out entire blogs because they had queer fandom related posts, etc. Places that already use content filters have restricted important information about suicide prevention and LGBTQ+ support groups. KOSA would spread this kind of censorship to every corner of the internet. And who gets to decide what is and isn't harmful for minors? Oh don't worry, just every single state attorney general and the FTC, which is appointed by the president. You know, the same attorney generals that just banned gender-affirming healthcare under the guise that it "ruins mental health" of minors. This is why the Heritage Foundation was one of the first to sponsor the bill because they can use it to censor trans content, and Senator Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee is it's co-author.

Second, KOSA would ramp up the online surveillance of all internet users by forcing websites to use age verification and parental monitoring tools. Yup, that's right. Now every single person who wants to access the internet has to upload their govt ID online to third party apps that get hacked all the time. You queer in a red state? You undocumented? You an activist? Have fun getting all your online activity and metadata attached to your govt ID.  

Over 90+ human and LGBT rights groups agree that KOSA is dangerous and updates to the 2023 version won’t and can’t address the big problems with the bill. This bill has MASSIVE bipartisan support, and the authors Blumenthal and Blackburn (yes, that Blumenthal that's pushing the EARN IT Act, and who also sponsored the RESTRICT Act and SOPA/PIPA if you remember) are using the tragedy of mothers who lost their kids to online harassment and young adults who've been traumatized online to lobby for it, and got Dove the company to use a bunch of influencers to push for this under the guise it prevents eating disorders...I wish I was lying. There are already 30 co-sponsors.

It is all hands on deck. I'm dead serious when I say if this bill is passed it is the beginning if not end of the open and free internet.

[queeringpsychology]

CW: Death, funeral, relatives, respect after death

Every queer & trans person (in the US) needs to get:

•Power of attorney form

•Healthcare proxy form

•Living will form (if applicable)

•Disposal of remains form

Pick 2-3 people from your chosen family

Without these forms, relatives can swoop in, exclude your chosen family entirely, & disrespect your memory

These forms can give your chosen family the ability to care for you exactly how you describe if you get too sick & they can take care of your body after you die just how you want

(You don’t have to have a church funeral if you don’t want to)

[executorofwillandestate]

This blog highlights the primary estate planning considerations, their significance, and essential elements of a will.

[cazort]

Why I'm Enthusiastic About Kamala Harris

I've seen so much negative talk about Trump and we all agree with that, but I want to highlight what I like most about Kamala Harris and why I'm actively enthusiastic and excited about voting for her:

She is pro-abortion rights and pro- comprehensive sex ed

She would appoint good Supreme Court Justices.

She respects people with a diverse range of political views and would include some voices from both progressive and conservative perspectives in her administration.

She is unambiguously pro-LGBTQ rights, including not just on gay rights but also trans rights.

She would represent continuity with the Biden administration, an administration that I think has done a good job on most issues.

On the issue of Palestine/Israel/Gaza (where I am most critical of Biden), I think Harris is a significant improvement over Biden, and also offers the better path of the only two viable candidates, towards ending the genocide. She has spoken out against the civilian deaths and she has snubbed Netanyahu which is a huge plus in my book.

She has shown a willingness to change her views, such as how she moved from being opposed to decriminalizing sex work in 2008, to being supportive of it in 2019, and being initially skeptical of marijuana legalization in 2010, but coming to support it in 2015. I like a candidate who can change their views, but more importantly, she is changing in a direction I like.

She would be good on the economy; she opposes tariffs, and would continue the Biden administration policies which have led to economic prosperity.

She has a solid and fairly diverse track record of experience, working as attorney general for the largest state, then senator for that state, then VP.

She has worked to combat over-incarceration and cruel treatment of people in prison, doing things like reducing mandatory minimum sentences and working to reduce recidivism, opposing solitary confinement, ending private prisons, and ending cash bail. She has also pledged to use the president's clemency powers to release a lot of people who have been imprisoned unjustly or given unfairly harsh sentences.

She has a concrete plan to enact immigration reform that would adequately fund the processing of asylum applications and fix the backlog of immigrants at the border. And the plan has broad bipartisan support.

On top of this she also has already done some things to address the root causes of migration in Latin America, particularly people fleeing Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador

She is pro-net-neutrality.

She supports universal healthcare, but also has concrete recommendations for how to improve the current status quo.

She is pro-science, including on issues like climate change, COVID, vaccinations, and health and nutrition. Her mom was a scientist!

She is pro-Ukraine, wanting to keep Russia out of Ukraine and ensure Ukraine wins their war of defense and maintains their independence.

She is across-the-board better on women's issues, not just reproductive rights but also sexual violence and domestic violence, workplace equality and the pay gap, and women's issues in Latin America (which is related to the immigration pressure I mentioned above.)

She generally takes stances on foreign policy I agree with, being skeptical of leaders (Putin, Orban, Netanyahu) I want us to be skeptical of, and working with and looking up to the ones I want us to work with and look up to (Olaf Scholz, Emmanuel Macron). She already has a working relationship with many of these leaders too, and has a reputation of being both personable and tough, just what I'd want.

She's smart, well-educated, and surrounded with smart, well-educated, and wise people. Her campaign is stable and well-run, and I trust her to put together a team of competent advisors and run this country competently, probably even more so than Biden has done, and Biden has done a pretty decent job, exceeding my expectations even.

Harris also has an impressive list of endorsements. I can't possibly be comprehensive here, but it includes people as diverse as the most progressive Democrat Lawmakers (Bernie Sanders and AOC), some of the most conservative former GOP legislators (Jeff Flake, Liz Cheney), and over 100 former GOP staffers including a disturbing number of insiders from the Trump administration. This is telling! You don't see this sort of whistleblowing and defection from within the Biden administration.

The fact that Harris has racked up endorsements from people spanning the whole political spectrum from solid-right to solid-left and everything in between, impresses me. This is the sign of someone who is going to be good at getting people to work together, someone who will listen to a wide range of viewpoints and develop better policy and take better courses of action as a result. It's what I always want in a president.

In some elections I have been frustrated that I'm voting for a "lesser of two evils" but this time around I actually feel actively enthusiastic about Harris. I am excited to vote tomorrow and excited to finally be done with this election, and I am cautiously optimistic that it is going to turn out really well.

I encourage everyone to vote and make sure to make sure everyone close to you is also voting!

[so-i-did-this-thing]

Goals this weekend:

1) Passport packet completed

2) List more clothes on poshmark, books & nerd crap I haven't touched on various marketplaces

3) Hike a bit

4) Dinner & game night with queer friends

5) Pet a big boofer at the newfie training event at Mystic

6) Look hot AF with my partner

Next up:

1) Start legal processes for redundant shoring up of legal protections as a "same sex" married couple. Focus on power of attorney, transfer of house deed, healthcare visitation, first

2) Inventory house, make list of high-impact, sustainability-focused products to get before new tariffs hit (canning stuff & new sewing machine come to mind).

3) Bloodwork for Dec physical

4) List more stuff I don't need for sale (old video game collection, I'm looking at you)

5) Hike a bit

6) Visit queer friends

7) Look hot AF with my partner

[thoughtportal]

For those living in one of the 22 states where abortion is banned or heavily restricted, the internet can be a lifeline. It has essential information on where and how to access care, links to abortion funds, and guidance on ways to navigate potential legal risks. Activists use the internet to organize and build community, and reproductive healthcare organizations rely on it to provide valuable information and connect with people in need.

But both Republicans and Democrats in Congress are now actively pushing for federal legislation that could cut youth off from these vital healthcare resources and stifle online abortion information for adults and kids alike.

This summer, the U.S. Senate passed the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), a bill that would grant the federal government and state attorneys general the power to restrict online speech they find objectionable in a misguided and ineffective attempt to protect kids online. A number of organizations have already sounded the alarm on KOSA’s danger to online LGBTQ+ content, but the hazards of the bill don’t stop there.

KOSA puts abortion seekers at risk. It could easily lead to censorship of vital and potentially life-saving information about sexual and reproductive healthcare. And by age-gating the internet, it could result in websites requiring users to submit identification, undermining the ability to remain anonymous while searching for abortion information online.

Abortion Information Censored

As EFF has repeatedly warned, KOSA will stifle online speech. It gives government officials the dangerous and unconstitutional power to decide what types of content can be shared and read online. Under one of its key censorship provisions, KOSA would create what the bill calls a “duty of care.” This provision would require websites, apps, and online platforms to comply with a vague and overbroad mandate to prevent and mitigate “harm to minors” in all their “design features.”

KOSA contains a long list of harms that websites have a duty to protect against, including emotional disturbance, acts that lead to bodily harm, and online harassment, among others. The list of harms is open for interpretation. And many of the harms are so subjective that government officials could claim any number of issues fit the bill.

This opens the door for political weaponization of KOSA—including by anti-abortion officials. KOSA is ambiguous enough to allow officials to easily argue that its mandate includes sexual and reproductive healthcare information. They could, for example, claim that abortion information causes emotional disturbance or death, or could lead to “sexual exploitation and abuse.” This is especially concerning given the anti-abortion movement’s long history of justifying abortion restrictions by claiming that abortions cause mental health issues, including depression and self-harm (despite credible research to the contrary).

As a result, websites could be forced to filter and block such content for minors, despite the fact that minors can get pregnant and are part of the demographic most likely to get their news and information from social media platforms. By blocking this information, KOSA could cut off young people’s access to potentially life-saving sexual and reproductive health resources. So much for protecting kids.

KOSA’s expansive and vague censorship requirements will also affect adults. To avoid liability and the cost and hassle of litigation, websites and platforms are likely to over-censor potentially covered content, even if that content is otherwise legal. This could lead to the removal of important reproductive health information for all internet users, adults included.

A Tool For Anti-Choice Officials

It’s important to remember that KOSA’s “duty of care” provision would be defined and enforced by the presidential administration in charge, including any future administration that is hostile to reproductive rights. The bill grants the Federal Trade Commission, majority-controlled by the President’s party, the power to develop guidelines and to investigate or sue any websites or platforms that don’t comply. It also grants the Executive Branch the power to form a Kids Online Safety Council to further identify “emerging or current risks of harms to minors associated with online platforms.”

Meanwhile, KOSA gives state attorneys general, including those in abortion-restrictive states, the power to sue under its other provisions, many of which intersect with the “duty of care.” As EFF has argued, this gives state officials a back door to target and censor content they don’t like, including abortion information.

It’s also directly foreseeable that anti-abortion officials would use KOSA in this way. One of the bill’s co-sponsors, Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), has touted KOSA as a way to censor online content on social issues, claiming that children are being “indoctrinated” online. The Heritage Foundation, a politically powerful organization that espouses anti-choice views, also has its eyes on KOSA. It has been lobbying lawmakers to pass the bill and suggesting that a future administration could fill the Kids Online Safety Council with “representatives who share pro-life values.”

This all comes at a time when efforts to censor abortion information online are at a fever pitch. In abortion-restrictive states, officials have already been eagerly attempting to erase abortion from the internet. Lawmakers in both South Carolina and Texas have introduced bills to censor online abortion information, though neither effort has yet to be successful. The National Right to Life Committee has also created a model abortion law aimed at restricting abortion rights in a variety of ways, including digital access to information.

KOSA Hurts Anonymity Online

KOSA will also push large and important parts of the internet behind age gates. In order to determine which users are minors, online services will likely impose age verification systems, which require everyone—both adults and minors—to verify their age by providing identifying information, oftentimes including government-issued ID or other personal records.

This is deeply problematic for maintaining access to reproductive care. Age verification undermines our First Amendment right to remain anonymous online by requiring users to confirm their identity before accessing webpages and information. It would chill users who do not wish to share their identity from accessing or sharing online abortion resources, and put others’ identities at increased risk of exposure.

In a post-Roe United States, in which states are increasingly banning, restricting, and prosecuting abortions, the ability to anonymously seek and share abortion information online is more important than ever. For people living in abortion-restrictive states, searching and sharing abortion information online can put you at risk. There have been multiple instances of law enforcement agencies using digital evidence, including internet history, in abortion-related criminal cases. We’ve also seen an increase in online harassment and doxxing of healthcare professionals, even in more abortion-protective states.

Because of this, many organizations, including EFF, have tried to help people take steps to protect privacy and anonymity online. KOSA would undercut those efforts. While it’s true that our online ecosystem is already rich with private surveillance, age verification adds another layer of mass data collection. Online ID checks require adults to upload data-rich, government-issued identifying documents to either the website or a third-party verifier, creating a potentially lasting record of their visit to the website.

For abortion seekers taking steps to protect their anonymity and avoid this pervasive surveillance, this would make things all the more difficult. Using a public computer or creating anonymous profiles on social networks won’t keep you safe if you have to upload ID to access the information you need.

We Can Still Stop KOSA From Passing

KOSA has not yet passed the House, so there’s still time to stop it. But the Senate vote means that the House could bring it up for a vote at any time, and the House has introduced its own similarly flawed version of KOSA. If we want to protect access to abortion information online, we must organize now to stop KOSA from passing.