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Half-Year Convention Back to Top

When calculating depreciation on equipment and furniture (personal property), the required method provides one-half a year worth of depreciation deductions in the year you buy or sell the property.

Hazard Back to Top

A hazard is a risk that is addressed explicitly, or assumed, in a contract or other arrangement. A contract can allocate who will be responsible for a particular hazard or what outcomes will be permitted. For example, if you sign a contract to purchase a house, what happens if there is a fire before the closing? Do you still have to close? Is there a price adjustment? Is the price adjustment limited to the buyer's insurance recovery? Is the contract cancelled with a full return of your deposit?

Head of household Back to Top

A head of household is the person that supports a family. There are tax implications to this status.

Health Care Proxy Back to Top

A health care proxy, also called a medical power of attorney, is a legal document in which you designate a person, called an agent or health care agent, to make medical decisions on your behalf. You should also prepare and sign a living will which is a separate document that specifies your health care wishes. See the sample forms on this website in the estate planning forms section. Also see the audio clips on these topics.

Heirs Back to Top

The persons who receive your assets following your death.

HIPAA Back to Top

HIPAA is the acronym for the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996. HIPAA, as amended, protects your rights to your medical information, “Protected Health Information” or PHI, for short. HIPAA is to assure you access to your medical information, while simultaneously preventing others who should not have access to it from obtaining it. These rules have broad implications to a wide range of personal, estate planning, and business transactions. Powers of attorney, health care proxies, trusts, revocable living trusts, shareholder agreements, etc. all need to include provisions addressing HIPAA. Without doing so, if a medical determination needs to be made (e.g., is the current trustee unable to serve so a successor can take over) the will be no legal authority for the medical providers to communicate with those that need the information.

HIPAA Release Back to Top

To authorize a medical provider (Covered Entity) to release your personal health information (Protected Health Information or PHI)There are a number of specifics requirements to meet under the applicable law 45 CFR 164.508. The authorization should be in writing. It should describe the health info to be disclosed. This could be your entire medical record, or only specified components. Who should make the disclosure? This could be a specific physician or hospital or a list of providers. A broader approach could be used to indicate a category of providers. For example, “any physicians, hospitals or other medical providers who have provided treatment, other medical services or payment for same, from June 1, 2004 through and including the date of this Authorization”. When does the authorization to disclose PHI expire? This could be: “upon a child attaining age 21”, which might suffice for a minor’s care. It could be “2 years from the signing of the authorization”, which should be more than adequate for a life insurance application. “One year from death”. This might be used in a health care proxy to assure the agent access to your records while alive, and possibly to evaluate post death records without the need to qualify as the executor of your estate. Although you retain the right to revoke any authorization to disclose your PHI (and the authorization should state this) the revocation is not binding on a medical provider (covered entity) until they receive it. This minimizes the issue of their liability for disclosing information based on an authorization they held prior to the revocation.
o The purpose for the disclosure should be explained. This might be limited to the minimum information to determine whether you have the ability to function as a trustee or should be replaced, or only that information necessary to underwrite you for life insurance.

Home Inspection Back to Top

Before purchasing a home its common (recommended) to have a formal inspection by an experienced licensed home inspector. The time period for doing this, and the rights you have to request repairs, modifications to the contract, or even to cancel the contract, generally must be contained in the actual real estate contract you signed. While state law may govern important provisions, the contract should be clear. This is why you should have the contract carefully reviewed by a real estate attorney before signing.

When you hire a home inspector, you will likely sign an agreement with the home inspector limiting the scope of the inspectors actions (they cannot tear open plaster or walls) and the liability of the inspector (they won't agree to be responsible for a range of matters) and the damages you can claim if they do make a mistake (many of these are really limited). If your inspector fails to find a problem, you have to see what the agreement provides for. While state law might create certain obligations that the contract cannot limit, you should consult a real estate litigator to address them.