Last week I was telling you about a story related to me by a parent of children who just turned age 18 and which reinforced for her the importance of having proper legal documents in place now that would allow her to make important decisions for her children.                 So, where did everything go wrong for Alyssa and her family?  What steps can we all take to prevent the same horrible experience?  Once Alyssa turned age 18 her parents legally had no right to make decisions for her – that is unless she signed a legal document allowing them to do so.  A health care directive would have allowed them to make medical decisions for her if she couldn’t do so herself.  Similarly, a power of attorney would have permitted them to make financial decisions on her behalf.                 The news reports I read did not make clear when Alyssa turned age 18, the age of majority.   If she had turned 18 before she had the brain aneurysm on Christmas Day she could have executed a health care directive giving her mother the ability to make medical decisions.  If the Mayo Clinic staff then refused to take direction from her, Alyssa’s