Powers of Attorney - Agent Information

There is a good deal of information available for "principle's" on Powers of Attorney. I have decided to create information for Agents. There are two types of Powers that can be created, Property and Health Care. This post will outline some of the powersthat an agent can be granted under property.

An Agent can be authorized to:

1. Buy and Sell Property/Real Estate
2. Manage all Money
• Checking Accounts
• Savings Accounts
• CD's (Certificate of Deposit)
• Money Market Accounts
• Etc.
3. Buy or Sell Personal Property
• Furnitur
• Collections
• Clothes
• etc.
4. Mange/ Access Safe Deposit Boxes
5.  Buy Insurance and Handle Retirement Plans
6. Handle Tax Matters
7. Initiate/ Defend Litigation
8. Aquire Social Security Benefits
9. Deal with Stocks, Bonds, and Options
10. Borrow Money in Principle's Name
11. Make Gifts for Principle
12. Name/ Change Beneficiaries
13. Revoke/ Amend a Trust

An agent should always act consistant with the wishes of the person they are serving.

What the Power of Attorney does not include:

• Actions After Death
• Powers of Attorney are legal documents that are effective during the life of the person who creates them. (Except for Organ Donation under Health Care POA's)

How can I help take care of my loved one's affairs after s/he passes away?

• Ensure that they have a will
• If they have children, ensure that their Will designates who will care for those children
• Encourage them t find an administrator for their Will who has the time and abilities to handle that job
• Things for the administrator to consider;
• Taxes
• Urgen Needs:
• Money for spouse and children to live on before the life insurance check arises 

Power Of Attorney - Health Care Agent Information

As noted in yesterdays post, there is not a lot of information for Agents on what their powers and responsibilities are. This post will outline some of the powers and responsibilities are in relation to a Health Care Power of Attorney (POA).

A POA Health Care agent may be able to:

1. Give, refuse, or withdraw consent to all typesof medical care. Including physical and metal health:
• Medication Program
• Surgical Pocedures
• Life-Sustaining Treatment
• Provision of food and fluids
2. Contract for Health Care services and facilities in the name of the principle.
3. Examine and copy all medical records
4. To order an austopsy be made and direct the disposition of deceased's remains. 

Principle's Health Wishes Checklist
Discussing the Issues

• Talk with the principle about their values and what kind of medical care they want - or do not want - in certian circumstances.
• Would they want to be revived if:
• their heart stopped
• their breathing stopped
• Various Forms of Life Support:
• breathing tubes
• feeding tubes
• respirators
• artificial nutrition
• artificial hydration
• kidney dialysis
• other machines

Does the Principle have a Do Not Resuscitate Order? (DRN)

Does the Principle want Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation? (CPR)

Would the Principle refuse a blood transfusion on the basis of personal belief?

Cemetery Oversight Task Force – Recommendation No. 2

Link to the Report and Recommendations


Recommendation No. 2: Enactment of Cemetery Oversight Act
The COTF recommends that legislation be adopted requiring that cemetery management operations be treated as a profession that only qualified persons should be authorized to own, operate, or work in. Therefore, a Cemetery Oversight Act should be adopted to provide for licensure of cemetery managers and the registration of cemetery employees.

Cemetery Oversight Task Force – Report and Recommendations to Governor Pat Quinn

Link to the Report and Recommendations


On September 15, 2009 The Cemetery Oversight Task Force (COTF) fulfilled a request by the Governor to look into the laws of Illinois and other states in addition to the opinions of State’s most influential leaders in the cemetery, funeral and embalming industries and from many members of the public affected by the Burr Oak Cemetery tragedy. This Task Force met over the period of two months to make a series of recommendations to the Governor. The following information is the recommendations that were made by the task force and my synopsis of the recommendations. I deemed it worthwhile to summarize those recommendations as the document containing the recommendation is 82 pages in length. The average reader has little to no interest in reading this length of document. As indicated above, there is a link to the “Report and Recommendations” above that you may use to read the whole document for yourself. Look for summaries for each recommendation in posts to follow. This post will summarize the first recommendation and following posts will summarize additional recommendations. Please feel free to leave comments on this act and any information you may wish to know. I will do my best to provide either the information, or a place where you can find the information for yourself.


Recommendation No. 1: Consolidation of regulatory Authority of Funeral and Burial Practices into the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation.
• Current regulation in Illinois is divided between two state agencies
     o The Department of Financial and Professional Regulation has jurisdiction over funeral directors and embalmers
     o The Comptroller has jurisdiction over most other aspects of for-profit death care industry, including laws relating to pre-need cemetery and funeral purchases, cemetery care funds, the protection of cemetery property, cemetery associations, and crematories.

This segmentation of duties is confusing to the consumer and therefore COTF recommends that Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (The Department) has regulation over all funeral and burial practices.

Department of Financial and Professional Regulation.

  In the Cemetery Oversight Act that was spoken about yesterday, there is, in the definitional section the following language, ""Department" means the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation." This language is not included in the snippets that I have included in the "Law Updates" page. The question you may have is why is this important?

  To begin with, this Department is the agency that a consumer would report any violations of the Act directly to. In addition to acting as the executive branch to enforce the Act, the Department has created a pamphlet to help consumers who are both choosing a cemetery and those wishing to ensure that the their loved ones are properly cared for. The link for this pamphlet is  http://www.idfpr.com/cemetery/cemeteryconsumerrights.pdf  

For complaints relating to cemeteries, funeral directors and embalmers:

Illinois Department of Financial & Professional Regulation
100 West Randolph Street, 9th Floor
Chicago, IL 60601
Toll-free Helpline: 1-888-RLOVED1 (756-8331)
Web site: http://www.idfpr.com/


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Cemetary Oversight Act

There is a new addition to the "Law Updates" page.  In light o the recent problems with cemetaries, the Illinois legislature has enacted the cemetary oversight act. This Act became effective March 1, 2010 and is set to be repealed in 2021. I have only included 2 sections of the act. The whole act is hyperlinked in on the "Law Updates" page. You can click on the link to bring you to the Illinois General Assembly Website. I have include two sections on this blog. The first section shows the intent of the new act, the second section outlines the ramifications of breaking the act. I hope you enjoy the act. Please feel free to post your comments.

What to Look Forward To

I hope you enjoy the new format of my blog. In addition to my normal postings, I will be adding information on a number of new legal areas. Those interested in Social Security Disability, Supplemental Security Income, Wills, Powers of Attorney, Gun Laws, and other miscellaneous law will be happy to see the new additions. At the top of this page is links to other pages that will soon be filled in with information on these topic areas. For those who do not have an interest in the specific areas of law listed, look to the misc. law topics. I will put recent changes in the law that may be of interest in the daily lives of everyday citizens. Please choose to follow my blog by clicking on the left. This will allow you the opportunity to keep in touch with me and let me know what topics you would like more information on. Thanks for visiting my blog, look forward to seeing you in the future.

Jonathan

NRA-ILA ::

NRA-ILA ::