Doctors sometimes recommend that you bring a companion to an appointment where a second set of ears may be useful. Sometimes my clients find it helpful to bring a second set of ears to our meetings together, and will invite a friend, family member or other trusted advisor to sit in. This usually takes place [...]
Estate planning, elder law, special needs, probate, guardianship. Leanna Hamill, Hingham
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Leanna Hamill, Attorney at Law, P.C. provides estate planning and related legal services to clients of all ages, with a focus on the needs of older individuals and their families.
Category Archives: For Caregivers
Helping Your Health Care Proxy
April is Health Care Decisions month, the month when you are supposed to sign health care proxies and talk to your family about your “end of life wishes.” I know many people will sign health care proxies, but I wonder how many will take that next step to communicate their wishes to their families, or [...]
There’s No Right (or Wrong) Time to Talk About It
People often think that you need to have “the talk” about important subjects. As though having one giant conversation at some magic age with your kids about sex or drugs or drinking will be sufficient to last them through out the rest of their growing up years.
And very often my older clients think they need [...]
Fear Won’t Keep The Basement Dry
A neighbor’s heat stopped working yesterday. It had been raining since Friday and she arrived home from some errands to a cold house. She’s older, so she asked me to go down the steep basement steps to see what was going on. There was floating going on – lawn chairs, coolers, papers. And a furnace [...]
Links You’ll Love
Here’s a round up of things I’ve been reading this week. All the links open in a new window, so feel free to read one and then come back, without fear of getting lost in the internet.
Damomma, also known as Elizabeth Soutter and the woman who helped design my website, has a beautifully touching post [...]
Trash Or Treasures?
I went to an antique appraisal event over the weekend. The fees went to charity, so I figured it would be a fun way to find out some more information about some family “heirlooms.” During the rather long wait, people were talking to each other and sharing information about their treasures. It got me thinking [...]
Their Decision, Not Yours – The Duty of a Health Care Proxy
The New York Times has a recent article called “An Ill Father, A Life and Death Decision.” It’s about a daughter who has been appointed as the health care proxy for her father. This means that when he is unable to make or communicate his health care decisions, she communicates his wishes to his health [...]
A Day in the Life of a Not-So-Secret Agent (Part 2)
The further adventures of a health care proxy and agent under a durable power of attorney. Read part 1 here.
When we last left our not-so-secret agent, she had been to the post office and had visited her client at the rehab hospital and was just finishing up lunch at an Indian Restaurant in Harvard [...]
A Day in the Life of a Not-So-Secret Agent (Part 1)
I have a couple of clients for whom I serve as agent under their health care proxies and powers of attorney. A couple of days last week found me acting as agent for them. I thought I’d post a composite sketch as a example, both for those people who may be serving as agent (now [...]
What An Attorney Can and Cannot Do
Attorneys are not therapists. Or magicians. Or fortune tellers. Yet, often clients think we are. As a reminder, here are some things your attorney can and can’t do.
1. Your attorney cannot make your decisions for you. Your attorney can provide you with the information you need to help you make an informed decision. We can’t [...]
Leanna@HamillLawOffice.com | 160 Old Derby St., Suite 456 | Hingham, Ma 02043 | Phone: 781.749.2284 | Fax: 866.573.6429
Advertising. In accordance with rules established by the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts, this web site must be labeled "advertising." It is designed to provide general information for clients and friends of the firm and should not be construed as legal advice, or legal opinion on any specific facts or circumstances. By using this site you understand that there is no attorney client relationship between you and the attorney. The website should not be used as a substitute for competent legal advice from a licensed professional attorney in your state. Leanna Hamill is licensed to practice law in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts only.
Advertising. In accordance with rules established by the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts, this web site must be labeled "advertising." It is designed to provide general information for clients and friends of the firm and should not be construed as legal advice, or legal opinion on any specific facts or circumstances. By using this site you understand that there is no attorney client relationship between you and the attorney. The website should not be used as a substitute for competent legal advice from a licensed professional attorney in your state. Leanna Hamill is licensed to practice law in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts only.