College-Aged Children – Estate Planning FAQ
This week we’re focusing on a frequently asked question for our blog. Lots of our clients are parents, and with Summer coming to a close, some of those parent clients have questions about how to keep their children safe even when they are leaving home for the first time. It seems strange to even consider estate planning as a factor to discuss with young men and women that have just turned eighteen, or who are going back to college, but there are a couple of really important considerations for our college-aged children when they are leaving the nest. So – FAQ: What estate planning steps should I be taking for my children who are legally adults?
Going to college for the first time can be a huge step for parents seeing their children leave the nest, and it’s an enormous growth moment for young people heading into the world away from home. One of the things that almost everyone going to college has to go through is a physical before the school-year starts. The college or university may have certain requirements to be considered for attendance, and turning in all the medical paperwork is generally an onerous step in an exciting adventure. However, this time is a perfect opportunity to provide your child’s college or university with certain critical pieces of paperwork.
To understand why we’re even talking about this issue, we have to put our minds in an upsetting place. The fact is, as parents, it’s always scary when children are out of our zone of control, even when it’s just for an hour or an afternoon. When they’re going to college, naturally a parent has less say in what happens in a young person’s life. So – the example here is an eighteen-year-old that has just started at university and let’s say they get injured in a car accident. (God forbid!) Whether they are taken to the university hospital, or any other hospital, medical decisions will need to be made quickly.
Since a child who has reached the age of eighteen is technically an adult, the parent-child relationship does not carry as much, or at times, any weight at all in a medical environment. If an eighteen-year-old child needs medical care, medical decisions need to made, and there are medical records to review, HIPAA and doctor-patient confidentiality can prevent parents from being able to be there for their kids, or even make simple medical decisions when the child cannot make them for themselves.
Okay – so we’ve identified the problem, now to focus on the solution. Here are the BIG THREE documents that we need to get in place to make sure the horrible scenario above never happens to our parent clients:
1) HIPAA Waiver: The HIPAA Waiver is a short document that does a very specific thing. Someone who fills out a HIPAA Waiver is able to waive confidentiality granted to them by HIPAA (The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996). HIPAA makes is so that physicians do not speak with anyone about someone’s medical conditions, treatment, or records. Waiving HIPAA allows those you love to be able to meet with your medical team, discuss medical options with providers, and review medical records that would all otherwise be confidential and privileged information. This document is necessary for our college-aged children going to school so there is never a scenario when our child’s physicians, insurance, or any other professional in the medical realm says they cannot speak to us about details involving our children.
2) Advance Medical Directive: The Advance Medical Directive (often referred to as: AMD, Living Will, Healthcare Power of Attorney) is another critical document that does two very important things. First, the AMD lays out someone’s wishes, should they have any they want to make clear, regarding medical scenarios and decisions that may come up at a time when they cannot make decisions for themselves. The classic example is someone who is comatose or otherwise non-responsive that needs decisions made regarding care. The AMD details wishes that your child may have in whatever detail they would like. Second, the AMD nominates an agent and backup agents who are authorized to make those tough medical decisions should the drafter be unable to make them for themselves. The spearhead decision-maker is nominated so they can jump into action when the child cannot make those decisions for themselves any longer.
3) Power of Attorney: This document steps away from the medical realm. The Power of Attorney, or POA, nominates a decision maker who can make financial decisions for the drafter when certain conditions have been met. Commonly, POAs are drafted such that they only become effective if a Court or a physician makes the determination that the drafter of the document is no longer competent or is unable to make decisions in their interest. They can also be written such that they are effective the day they are signed, irrespective of the mental state of the drafter. We need one of these in place for our college-aged children as well to make sure financial matters can be handled easily if something were to happen to our loved one. Examples would be making sure rent is paid on time, dealing with financial institutions, and many other scenarios that can crop up during these tough times.
There you have it! The big three documents that every parent needs to set up for their college-aged children. Obviously, when you are doing these documents, other important documents can be drafted as well, like Wills and Trusts, if necessary. But the big three detailed above will give our parent clients the peace of mind that is so rare when our little birds fly the coop. If you have questions about any of this process, give us a call at Wakefield Law – 7037719740.