Documents You Need as Your Children Head to College by Deana Love, JD, CPA
Posted on July 22, 2024
by
Deana Love
With proper estate planning, people typically execute a series of documents naming their family members or friends to make medical or financial decisions on their behalf when they are unable to do so themselves. Children need similar protections when they age out of being minors and take on adult responsibilities. Under most state laws, the age at which children are considered adults who assume all legal control over their decisions and actions is 18. Before that point, parents must consider how their rights change and plan accordingly before their children leave for college.
You generally do not have the legal authority to speak with your college-age children’s doctors, bankers or financial advisors after your children reach the age of majority. The only way you can stay informed and make decisions regarding your children’s care and finances is to work with your advisors to prepare the following documents.
HIPAA Authorization and Healthcare Power of Attorney
Should your child get into an accident or become ill, you generally do not have a legal right to receive information about their condition, even if they are hospitalized and unable to communicate with you. The only way to gain access and ensure physicians and medical staff speak directly with you about your child’s condition is to have in place a signed form authorizing the release of health information under HIPAA law. It is also a good idea to check with your child’s college to determine its unique requirements for releasing students’ medical records, which may require you to sign a separate HIPAA authorization form.
Regarding your child’s medical care, it is critical to execute a healthcare power of attorney or healthcare proxy, giving you the authority to make medical decisions on your child’s behalf should they later become mentally or physically unable to make those decisions on their own. Both you and your child should keep copies of the power of attorney and HIPPA release form and consider sending additional copies to the college’s health department and your child’s doctors near campus.
Financial Power of Attorney
College often represents a young adult’s first time managing their finances and living within a budget. While mistakes can be expected, you do not want your child to get to the point where missed payments become a habit that negatively impacts their credit rating. Instead, you may consider executing a financial power of attorney that gives you access to your child’s financial information and allows you to step in, as needed, to remedy issues before they become more significant financial problems. This document is also crucial if your child becomes ill, physically unable to make financial decisions, or if they are traveling out of the country.
Heading to college is an exciting time for children and parents. While you cannot avoid every bump in the road ahead, you can make the path to adulthood smoother when you take the time to plan and prepare for all of life’s what-if scenarios.
About the Author: Deana Love, JD, CPA, is a director of Tax Services with Berkowitz Pollack Brant, where she provides tax-efficiency and estate-planning advisory services to high-net-worth individuals, their businesses and family offices. She can be reached at the CPA firm’s West Palm Beach, Fla., office at (561) 361-2050 or info@bpbcpa.com.
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