For parents with children in college, consider if they (and you) are prepared in the case of an emergency that may occur while they are at school.

Upon turning 18, your child legally becomes an adult, which necessitates putting certain legal documents in place to ensure your child’s well-being.  Every college-aged child should have these three key legal documents:

  1. Durable Power of Attorney: A Durable Power of Attorney allows the principal to designate someone as his/her attorney-in-fact (“Agent”) with legal authority to manage the principal’s financial affairs.  The document is typically effective upon signing and continues to be effective during any time of incapacity, which can help can prevent a need for court involvement in the case of an emergency or incapacity.  For college-aged children, one or both parents are often named as the child’s Agent so that parents have the requisite legal authority to handle banking and other financial transactions on a child’s behalf, sign legal documents, access digital assets, and more.  This is particularly useful if your child attends school far away or is studying abroad.
  2. HealthCare Proxy: The Healthcare Proxy allows the principal to designate a Healthcare Agent to make medical care decisions on behalf of the principal, if the principal is unable to make such decisions on his/her own.  For college-aged children, typically a parent is designated for this role.  For any parent being named as Healthcare Agent for their college-aged child, encourage your child to discuss with you his/her wishes regarding hospital care and medical care interventions.  Taking these steps will empower your child to voice his/her wishes and ease the burden of making these types of decisions in the case of a medical emergency.
  3. HIPAA Release: The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (“HIPAA”) protects one’s privacy regarding medical records and other health information.  A HIPAA Release form allows individuals named on the form to have access to the principal’s medical records, which are otherwise confidential.   For college-aged children, typically parents (and anyone else named as a Healthcare Agent on the Healthcare Proxy) are named on this form to enable communication and facilitate access to medical information that is critical to making informed medical care decisions.

College-aged children can take control over their financial and medical affairs and designate who has legal authority to assist them with these important functions by completing the above-described estate planning documents.  Without these documents, parents will not have the requisite legal authority to act on behalf of their college-aged children the way they could back when their children were under 18.

If your college-aged child does not already have these essential estate planning documents, the upcoming Thanksgiving break or winter holiday break may be a convenient time to put these documents in place while your children are home from college.   While none of us can predict the future, we can plan for it and alleviate potential stress down the road in the case of an emergency.

Contact Beth C. Grossman, CPA, JD of our office to get started and gain peace of mind.  Beth is a licensed MA attorney that has been recognized by MA SuperLawyers as a Rising Star in Estate Planning and Probate each year from 2018 through present.