Why do I need this?  if somebody is incapacitated, the next of kin has decision-making power automatically, right?

• When someone is incapacitated without a Durable Health Care Proxy (“DHCP”) it creates problems including (1) access to private information, and (2) determining who is in charge as the agent.  The first problem, the privacy hurdle,  is overcome by having a HIPAA waiver embedded in the DHCP.  The second problem, determining who is in charge, is resolved as the DHCP clearly indicates who is in charge – this eliminates the confusion of who the “next of kin” is in the event of an emergency.  It is so much easier to deal with the clearly identified agent in a DHCP than it is to sort out who is the next of kin. Is it mom? Is it dad?  What if they are divorced and don’t get along?  Is it a sibling?  Which one?  A child?  Which one?  The DHCP eliminates all of these time-consuming and emotionally charged problems in a crisis situation.  And for Financial and Legal matters, similar issues can cause problems as well.  A Durable Financial Power Of Attorney solve that.

Can’t I just find these online for free by doing a Google search?

• Your right, you can try to find these forms, as there are hundreds of them for free online, but it’s not simple or clear what is best for you. Kinfo.us even provides a free HIPAA form on our site too.  But for Health Care Proxy and/or Financial Power Of Attorney, Kinfo provides these forms without parents having to spend time searching online for the proper State specific form, offers guidance in completing/executing the forms and a tool to fill them out easily in just a few minutes. All of which together saves the parent time and provides an informed experience.
  And it’s inexpensive. Check us out @Kinfo.us.

Where do I find a notary?

• Banks, Pharmacy, Public Libraries, Local Government Offices, schools and universities, AAA branches offer free notary services as a membership benefit, Your place of business especially if you work for a large company, a hotel or Resort’s business services center, Mailbox companies like the UPS Store and Mail Boxes Etc.,
• Or an internet search for: “notary +your_town” (obviously, replace “your_town” with your actual town name), 123Notary.com, American Association of Notaries’ Notary Locator, Notary.net

What is a witness?

• Witnesses must not be related to Principal, be beneficiaries of principal’s estate or be a health care provider or employer of health care provider to principal.

How many witnesses do I need?

• Two (2) are required for our documents.

How many Agents do you provide for on your documents?

• We chose to use one agent to simplify the forms and their execution. Some states expressly prohibit the appointment of co-agents, which would require additional state-specific forms. Lastly, if we appoint co-agents we need to include language that allows either co-agent to act alone, otherwise financial (and health care) institutions will likely require both agents’ presence, signature, etc. to enforce any action.

How do you terminate these documents?

• Durable Health Care Proxy Revocation Instructions – Principal may revoke the HCP by a writing signed and dated by the principal, delivered to the agent and to any health care provider that has received a copy of the HCP.
• Durable Financial Power of Attorney Revocation Instructions – Principal may revoke the POA by a writing signed and dated by the principal, delivered to the agent and to any other financial institution that has received a copy of the POA.
• HIPAA Revocation Instructions – Principal may revoke the Authorization by a writing signed and dated by the principal and delivered to the health care provider.

Do States Accept Other States Documents?

• Some do, but because there are potential risks with states accepting other states documents, we created our documents to be state specific.  Therefore, if the principal spends time in more than one state they should have documents for each specific state.
• For Durable Financial Power Of Attorney the states that have specific documents are : CA, ME, MI, MO, NH, NY, OK, TX.
• For Durable Health Care Proxy the states that have specific documents are : AL, ND, WI.

Do you keep my personal information?  Privacy questions?

• First of all we only ask for names, addresses and gender – that’s all.  We are 100% HIPAA compliant but we will not keep user data (accounts), instead we will store “in-progress” data on the users local HD so if they start-stop-start again later the form building process, they won’t have to start from the beginning but where they left off.

What happens if you don’t understand something?

• If you don’t understand something related to these documents you can email help@Kinfo.us with your questions and/or consult with an attorney in your area.

Are Durable Health Care Proxy (HCP) forms and Durable Financial Power of Attorney (POA) forms only for old people?

• While it is true that traditionally more older, rather than younger, people use advance directives, but every legal adult (18+ over) should have these documents in place in the event of a medical emergency.

What if I want to update these?

• You always have the right and ability to update/modify your documents by executing new documents as you get older as the person you want appointed as your POA and/or HCP may change.

What should the “Principal” know and understand before signing these documents?

• The Principal should be aware that these documents have significant meaning and should appoint a person that they trust to handle their financial and/or medical decisions in a manner, which protects their best interests.

Is it possible for an Agent to steal my money and property?

• Yes. A Durable Financial Power of Attorney can be abused, and dishonest agents have used powers of attorney to transfer the principal’s assets to themselves and others. That is why it is so important to appoint an agent who is completely trustworthy.

Can I appoint more than one Agent in a Durable Financial Power of Attorney?

• You are not able to appoint more than one Agent in the Durable Financial Power of Attorney forms provided here.  Durable Power of Attorney forms provided elsewhere may allow for the appointment of more than one Agent.

Once I sign a Durable Financial Power of Attorney, may I continue to make legal and financial decisions for myself?

• Yes, the agent named in a Durable Financial Power of Attorney is only your representative. As long as you are capable to make decisions, you can instruct your agent to do only those things that you want done.

Will my Durable Financial Power of Attorney expire?

• Today, most states permit a Durable financial Power of Attorney to remain valid once signed until the principal dies or revokes the document.