Congratulations, to the students, and their parents, who have finally completed high school and are heading out to college.



Estate planning for college kids? Yes. Many parents will soon watch their children become adults (at least in the eyes of the law) and leave home to pursue their education and career goals.

Turning 18, graduating high school, and moving out is a huge accomplishment. And it also comes with some serious responsibilities that probably are not at the forefront of their (or your) mind right now. Once your children become legal adults, many areas that were once under your control are now solely up to them.

Let us consider a real-world example of why having an estate plan for a “new” adult is in the best interest of them, and their family. As an example, what if after their 18th birthday, on their way to work or school they are INVOLVED IN AN ACCIDENT. Who has the ability to answer medical questions, request information from hospital staff, and access financial accounts to keep paying bills in case they are incapable of doing so for themselves?

THE HOSPITAL MAY NOT EVEN BE WILLING TO CONFIRM WHETHER YOUR CHILD IS THERE unless your child has authorized you to speak for them as their agent with a validly executed power of attorney their MEDICAL and FINANCIAL responsibilities. Banks will not allow you access to their accounts, even if you still have the same address as your kid, unless you have a power of attorney authorizing you to do so. Even if your child names you as his or her emergency contact with the school, what if he or she gets taken to an off-campus facility for emergency treatment?

A scary thought to think that the difference between being there entirely for your child one day and completely gone the next, just because of a birthday. To alleviate this concern and to ensure that this example above does not play out for you or your loved ones, you and your young adult need to execute some basic estate planning documents.

Medical Power of Attorney

Medical power of attorney allows your child to name an agent (like you), who has the power to make healthcare decisions for them if they’re incapacitated and cannot make such decisions for themselves. For example, this authority allows you to make medical decisions if your child is knocked unconscious in a car accident or falls into a coma due to an illness.

That said, while a medical power of attorney would give you authority to view your child’s medical records and make treatment decisions, that authority only goes into effect if the child becomes incapacitated. This means that unless your child is incapacitated, you do not have the authority to view their medical records, which are considered private under HIPAA.

HIPPA Authorization

Passed in 1996, the “Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act,” or HIPPA, requires health care providers and insurance companies to protect the privacy of a patient’s health records. Once your child becomes 18, no one—even parents—is legally authorized to access his or her medical records without prior written permission.

But this is easily remedied by having your child sign a HIPPA authorization that grants you the authority to access his or her medical records. This can be critical if you ever need to make informed decisions about your child’s medical care.

Living Will

While medical power of attorney allows you to make medical decisions over your child’s ongoing healthcare if they’re incapacitated, a living will provides specific guidelines for how their medical care should be handled at the end of life.

A living will details how they want medical decisions made for them, not just who makes them. But such power only goes into effect if the child is terminally ill, which typically means they have less than six months to live.

Your child may have certain wishes for their end-of-life care, so it’s important you discuss these decisions with them and have such provisions documented in a living will. For example, a living will allows the child to decide when and if they want life support removed if they ever require it. Since these are literally life-or-death decisions, you should document them in a living will to ensure they’re properly carried out.

Jonny is the owner of DocuPrep where she is working to bridge the gap between attorneys and individuals by providing document support services. Her resource blogs are designed to provide you with the necessary tools to organize your information and manage your affairs yourself. Knowledge is Power.

Author: Jonny Morales