It’s that time of year again where preparation for the new school year has begun. If you are a parent, this involves getting school supplies, new clothes and coordinating the calendar.

However, if you are a parent of a child that is heading off to college or already currently attending a university, there may be something that you have not thought about.

Once your child turns 18, your right and ability to access medical records, make medical decisions on behalf of your child, or in certain circumstances visit your child in the hospital, ceases.

For a child that has an accident miles or even states away, not being able to get information on their well-being can be scary and frustrating. One solution to help a parent ensure they receive the necessary information in an emergency, is to have a child who is 18 years of age or older sign Medical and Financial Powers of Attorney, as well as a HIPAA release document before they go off to college, or when they visit on holiday.

More information about these documents are located on this website at Estate Planning

I am one of the attorneys participating in this clinic, please forward this flyer link to anyone it would benefit

http://www.utexas.edu/law/orgs/outlaw/events/volunteer/clinic/

This week is a special week! It’s National Estate Planning Awareness week from October 15-21, 2012. While planning is one of the best things you can do for a loved one at anytime, there are some special reasons you may want to plan by the end of the year.

Did you know that the estate tax and gifting rules currently in place are sun-setting at the end of the year? What that means is the current $5.12 million per person estate and gift tax exemption is scheduled to drop to $1 million at the end of 2012 (known as the “fiscal cliff”).

If your plan is already in place, now is a good time to review your current plan with your attorney. If you do not have an estate plan, planning this year instead of next could have a huge impact on your estate.

Just a couple pictures of me teaching the 2012 UT OUTLaw student volunteers. In these pictures I’m training law students to help prepare wills for the UT LGBTQ legal clinic, Oct. 21, 2012.

I just read an interesting article where technology and the legal field are coming together to predict what kinds of decisions the grantor of a trust would make after they are deceased. It involves the grantor of a trust developing their own virtual clone that can be consulted with or named as the trustee down the line to aid in understanding what trust decision the grantor would make were the grantor alive. While this concept is still in the process of being created, it has some great applications down the line for Estate Planning Attorneys. Here is the link to the article:

http://meltzerlippe.com/pdf_120904_article02.pdf