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Powers of Attorney for Incompetent Young Adults
- Barbara S. Hughes will be speaking on May 6 at the 2005 Annual Statewide Conference of the Autism Society of Wisconsin held May 5-7 in Green Bay. The title of her presentation is "Planning at 18 with Powers of Attorney or Guardianship". Over the past 10 years, Barbara has worked with many Wisconsin families who have an autistic child, particularly to prepare special and supplemental needs trusts. She also has devised an education power of attorney for use with high functioning and legally competent young adults with autism, Asperger’s Syndrome or other disabilities. This instrument has been accepted by local secondary schools, Madison Area Technical College, and the University of Wisconsin. The following describes what this speech will cover:
- When autistic youth reach age 18, parents lose legal authority and access to their children’s health care, financial and education information. Competent young adults can grant separate powers of attorney (POAs) for health care, financial matters and education matters, enabling their parent or other selected agent to continue assisting them and receiving relevant, otherwise privacy-protected information.
Among other topics, Attorney Hughes will share the education power of attorney she devised and has recently published as part of a NAELA Journal law review article. She also will discuss guardianship (limited as appropriate) as a solution for the incompetent young adult. If time permits, she may touch upon the WisPACT pooled and community special needs trusts.
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