This time of year, as parents around the Inland Empire are preparing to send children off to live independently or to attend college, ProSe Legal Service sees an increase in need for documents associated with children becoming adults.
According to Reyna Ventura, managing legal document assistant at ProSe, having power of attorney, a filed HIPAA waiver or co-agency documents when a child turns 18 can prevent both frustrating problems and catastrophic ones.
“One of the things people don’t realize – we see this a lot – they come in and it’s too late, and they share a horrible story,” she said by phone July 13. Things change when a child turns 18: “Parents no longer have a say when it comes to their adult children’s health care or their affairs.”
One situation she mentioned is when a child away at college ends up hospitalized.
“If the child is 18, parents’ rights are limited,” she said. “It’s very difficult for the parent to make decisions on the child’s behalf if there is no health care directive.”
They don’t have access to the child’s bank account, where they may have put money for tuition, board and other expenses, but that they suddenly need for medical care.
These and other crises are made less difficult when there is a power of attorney in place, she said, but they have to be in place before the crisis arises.
“One woman wanted to get these documents after her child died giving birth,” Ventura said. “The mom was left out of the discussion and all decisions about what happened to her daughter’s remains. The new husband had all the authority. Mom could’ve been designated in advance as a co-agent along with the husband.
“Another woman called ProSe trying to get a power of attorney to represent her son when he had already died. He was in his 20s.
“She went to the hospital facility where he had been so she could get his records, and because of HIPAA laws (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) she couldn’t access his records to find out what had gone wrong.
“She wanted closure,” Ventura said. “At that point it was too late.”
But a HIPAA waiver could’ve been prepared in advance, she said.
“People don’t understand how power of attorney works. That’s what we’re here to do.”
She said that when there is a planned surgery, the hospital will have the patient fill out a health care directive, but if there’s an accident, the patient’s wishes may not have been outlined.
Another legal document often needed for adult children is conservatorships.
“For instance, autism rates are increasing,” she said. “When an adult child with a disability will always depend on a parent, there’s no legal issue before they’re 18, but when they become legal adults, they will need help managing their health care, affairs and estate. They do not have the legal capacity to sign over power of attorney.”
This also needs to be taken care of in advance.
“You want to be prepared when they turn 18. We walk you through the process of preparing the documents, submitting them to the court and getting a hearing date.”
Ventura stressed that the documents arm clients to be ready for the unexpected.
“Some people question, ‘What’s the importance of this?’ These are documents that you would rather have and not use than need and not have. You don’t want to be in the situation where you have a family member in a coma and you can’t do anything.”
ProSe is a legal document preparation service that handles many family law, immigration, corporation, LLC, LPS, wills, trusts, probate, deeds and other documents. They are staffed by legal document assistants who undergo the same training and education as the paralegals who work for law firms, but ProSe LDAs serve public clients directly. They are registered and bonded through the county.
Some ProSe offices also have an in-house notary public.
ProSe has California offices in Ontario, Redlands, Calimesa, Eastvale and Carson.
There is also an office in Summerlin, Nevada. Offices in Rancho Mirage and Phoenix are coming soon.
For more information, go to ProSeLegal.com or call 909-403-6895.
