12 APA PRACTICE ORGANIZATION
PRACTICE MANAGEMENT
A
fter the unexpected death of a psychologist in
independent practice, distraught family members,
surviving colleagues or support staff face the process
of closing the psychologist’s practice. Yet there is no clear
written guidance to assist them.
Unfortunately, this scenario is not uncommon. The antidote
is a professional will that protects practitioners, their estates,
their clients and family members. A professional will
designates a trusted colleague as “professional executor”
and provide all the direction needed to manage relevant
practice issues promptly and effectively in case of a
psychologist’s death or incapacity.
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APA Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct
(“Ethics Code”) Standard 3.12 addresses both expected
and unexpected interruptions of treatment as follows:
“Unless otherwise covered by contract, psychologists make
reasonable efforts to plan for facilitating services in the
event that psychological services are interrupted by factors
such as the psychologist’s illness, death, unavailability,
relocation or retirement or by the client’s/patient’s relocation
or nancial limitations.” In addition, Ethics Code 6.02(c)
states: “Psychologists make plans in advance to facilitate
the appropriate transfer and to protect the condentiality of
records and data in the event of psychologists’ withdrawal
from positions or practice.”
Many states have adopted the APA Ethics Code or similar
ethical standards in laws or regulations governing the
professional conduct of psychologists. In addition, most
states have laws mandating the retention of patient medical
records for a specied number of years, and such laws may
apply to the estate of a deceased psychologist. Some states
also specically address the issue of professional wills in
laws or other guidance.
Therefore, unless you work in a group practice or
organization with policies in place that address issues such
as continuity of care and transfer of records, some advance
planning is needed. A professional will is a comprehensive
way for independent practitioners to plan for unforeseen
circumstances resulting in incapacity or death.
How to create a professional will
Professional wills can take a variety of formats, but all
should identify a professional executor (usually a licensed
psychologist or other licensed mental health provider)
and give that person the authority to act on your behalf. A
professional will should include all the basic instructions
that an executor would need to notify clients, appropriately
handle records, make referrals for continued treatment as
needed, and wind down your practice.
A sample professional will, based on the work of the San Diego
Psychological Association (SDPA) Committee on Psychologist
Retirement, Incapacitation or Death is provided on pages 13
and 14. The APA Practice Organization (APAPO) gratefully
acknowledges the work of the SDPA and has prepared this
revised document with the association’s permission.
This material and additional APAPO resources related to
professional wills can be found in the Practice Management
section of the Practice Central website at http://www.
apapracticecentral.org/business/management/index.aspx.
Those resources include:
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who prefer to create the document electronically.
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Contacts List” document mentioned in the third section
of the professional will template.
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preparation of a professional will.
We recommend that you consult with an attorney with
appropriate experience regarding preparation of a
professional will.
If you have further questions about creating a professional
will or the role of a professional executor, please contact the
American Psychological Association Practice Directorate’s
Legal and Regulatory Affairs Department at
praclegal@apa.
org
or 800-374-2723.
Your Professional Will: Why and How to Create
Use the accompanying sample template
to facilitate the process.
I, ________________________________, do hereby declare this to be my Professional Will. This document supersedes
prior Professional Wills [if any exist]. This is not a substitute for a Personal Last Will and Testament. It is intended
to give authority and instructions to my Professional Executor regarding my psychology practice and records in the
event of my incapacitation or death.
FIRST
I am a practicing psychologist licensed in ___________________________. My license # is _______________________.
My principal ofce address is_____________________________________________________________________________.
In the event of my death or incapacitation, I hereby appoint as my Professional Executor ________________________,
who has agreed to serve in this role. His/her phone number and email and mail addresses are _________________
___________________________________. In the event that___________________ is unavailable or unable to perform
this function, I hereby appoint as Secondary Professional Executor _______________________, who has agreed to
serve in this role. His/her phone number and email and mail addresses are ___________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________.
I hereby grant my Professional Executors full authority to:
t Act on my behalf in making decisions about storing, releasing and/or disposing of my professional records, consistent
with relevant laws, regulations and other professional requirements.
t Carry out any activities deemed necessary to properly administer this professional will.
t Delegate and authorize other persons determined by them to assist and carry out any activities deemed necessary to
properly administer this professional will.
SECOND [If applicable]
My attorney for this Professional Will is___________________________, whose phone number and email and mail
addresses are _____________. The executor of my current personal will is_________________________, whose phone
number and email and mail addresses are _________________________________________________________________.
THIRD
Copies of a separate “Files, Passwords, and Contacts List” are stored with copies of my Professional Will in the
locations specied below in section FOURTH (B). This list is intended to be maintained and updated as needed to
facilitate access to all relevant contacts, client records and other relevant documents, including all relevant hard
copy and electronic les as well as back-up les. The list includes:
t Names and contact information for individuals who may be able to assist in locating/accessing my client records and
other relevant professional documents (for example, colleagues, ofce staff, family)
t Location and/or how to access current client records
t Location and/or how to access past client records
t Location and/or how to access my psychological test materials [if applicable]
t Location and/or how to access my professional billing and nancial records
t Location and/or how to access my appointment book and client phone numbers
t Location of the computer and other electronic devices used for my psychology practice
t Passwords for my computer and other electronic devices used for my psychology practice
t My professional e-mail and website addresses
t My ofce phone number and voicemail access code
t Location and/or how to access my professional liability insurance policy
t Location of any necessary keys you will need for access to my ofce, ling cabinets, storage facilities, etc.
Sample Professional Will *
This sample will can be cut out and reproduced as needed.
NOTE: Italicized copy below appearing within brackets comprises notes and recommendations related to the sample will content.
[name of state]
FOURTH
My specic instructions for my Professional Executor are:
A. First of all, I would like to express my deep appreciation for your willingness to serve as my Professional
Executor.
B. There are four copies of this Professional Will. They are located as follows: one is in your possession; one is in the
possession of my attorney; one is with my personal will; and one is with my professional liability insurance policy.
C. Please use your clinical judgment and discretion in deciding how you want to notify current and past clients of
my death or incapacity and whom to contact for further information, consistent with ethical and legal requirements.
[Note: You may choose to provide more detailed instructions in this section. For example, you may wish to maintain
a list of current and selected past clients who are to be notied of your death and/or any planned memorial services
and to specify the location of such a list in this section.]
D. If clinically indicated, for example by their response to notication of my death, you may wish to offer a face-to-
face meeting with some clients. You may also wish to provide several referrals sources for current and past clients.
Referral sources can, of course, include yourself.
E. Please promptly notify my professional liability carrier of my death and arrange for any additional coverage that
may be appropriate. Please also notify the state psychology licensing board.
F. Please arrange for clients’ records or copies of their records to go to their new psychologist or other mental health
professional, if applicable, with the clients’ consent. All remaining records should be maintained according to
the relevant, most recent APA Ethics Standards, state regulations and APA Record Keeping Guidelines. [Related
recommendation: Include in the informed consent document signed by clients at the outset of treatment a
notication that if you die or become incapacitated, your Professional Executor may take control of records and
contact clients.]
G. You may bill my estate for your time and any other expenses that you may incur in executing these instructions.
Unless otherwise ordered by the court, the hourly rate of [or specify total amount] ___________ is acknowledged
to be reasonable. [Notes: (1) You may wish to reinforce this commitment by also including it in your personal will.
(2) If your practice is a corporation or LLC, you should consult with your attorney regarding whether your estate
(instead of the corporation or LLC) should reimburse your professional executor.]
I declare that the foregoing is true and correct.
Executed at_____________________________________________________________ on___________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________
Signature
WITNESSES
Printed Name: ___________________________________ Signature: __________________________________________
Residing at: __________________________________________________________________________________________
Printed Name: ___________________________________ Signature: __________________________________________
Residing at: __________________________________________________________________________________________
*DISCLAIMER & ACKNOWLEDGMENT
This Sample Professional Will is for informational purposes only. It is not intended to provide legal advice and should not be used
as a substitute for obtaining personal legal advice and consultation prior to making decisions regarding individual circumstances.
Psychologists are advised to consult an experienced attorney in order to prepare a professional will. This document is based on
the San Diego Psychological Association Committee on Psychologist Retirement, Incapacitation or Death (SDPA PRID) sample
“Professional Will” which is available in its “Professional Will Packet” at
bit.ly/1smxrZ2. APAPO gratefully acknowledges the
work of the SDPA PRID and has prepared this revised document with the association’s permission.
[location] [date]
GOOD PRACTICE Spring/Summer 2014 15
DISCLAIMER
This article and Sample Professional Will are for informational purposes only. They are not intended to provide legal
advice and should not be used as a substitute for obtaining personal legal advice and consultation prior to making decisions
regarding individual circumstances. Psychologists are advised to consult an experienced attorney in order to prepare a
professional will.
REFERENCES AND RESOURCES
American Psychological Association. (2010). Ethical
principles of psychologists and code of conduct.
Retrieved from
www.apa.org/ethics/code/index.aspx.
American Psychological Association (2007). Record
keeping guidelines. American Psychologist, 62(9), 993–
1004. Available at
www.apa.org/practice/guidelines/
record-keeping.pdf
.
American Psychological Association Practice
Organization. Are you prepared for the unexpected?
Available at
www.apapracticecentral.org/business/
legal/professional/secure/will.aspx
.
DeAngeles, T. (2008). How to prepare for the
unexpected. APA Monitor, 39(6), 50. Available at
www.apa.org/monitor/2008/06/prepare.aspx.
Knapp, S., Younggren, J.N., VandeCreek, L., Harris, E.,
& Martin, J.N. (2013). Assessing and managing risk in
psychological practice. Rockville, MD: The Trust.
San Diego Psychological Association Committee on
Psychologist Retirement, Incapacitation or Death
(2009). “Professional Will Packet” including Guidelines
for Preparing a Professional Will, Professional Will
and Guidelines for a Professional Executor available
at
bit.ly/1smxrZ2
