Wednesday, August 22, 2007

Some Texas alternatives to guardianships

There are some alternatives to a court ordered guardianship in the State of Texas. I strongly urge you to talk to an attorney that handles a lot of probate issues to discuss the needs of your case! Some possible alternatives MIGHT be: DURABLE POWER OF ATTORNEY - a document a person does to designate another person to act as his agent for financial matters. There are pros and cons to this document. DURABLE HEALTH CARE POWER OF ATTORNEY - a person designates another person to make medical decisions for them if the person is unable to do so. For example, you are in an automobile accident and in a coma. The doctor cannot talk to you about possible medical treatments available to you. You need another person to talk to the doctor and decide how to proceed. When you regain consciousness, then you would make your own medical decisions. DIRECTIVE TO PHYSICAN -- ALSO KNOWN AS A "LIVING WILL". You can designate that under certain incurrable or irreversible medical conditions what you want done. SURROGATE DECISION MAKING - created by the Texas Legislature in 1993. Read the Texas Health and Safety Code Section 313 for details.

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