Many parents assist their college-bound children with filling out paperwork for a variety of collegiate needs, such as financial aid applications, dormitory requests, roommate assignments, and registration for their first semester of undergraduate classes. Even the most attentive and meticulous parents, however, often neglect to consider important estate planning documents such as a medical power of attorney, financial power of attorney, or a living will among their college student’s documentation. These critical estate planning documents can prove vital in case of an emergency, and may even save their life. If you are considering what kind of estate planning documents a college student needs and how to draft them, consider contacting an estate planning lawyer with Harrison Law, PLLC for a confidential consultation by calling (480) 320-2310 today.
Why College Age Kids Need Estate Planning Documents in Place
College can be an exciting time for children. Often, their matriculation represents the first time that they are living on their own and have a sense of freedom. As much as parents associate college with youth, the vast majority of college freshmen will be at least 18 years old when their first semester’s classes start, with all of the rights, responsibilities, and legal autonomy adulthood entails.
Estate planning documents like medical and financial powers of attorney can ensure that you can act on your adult child’s behalf if the need arises. This could be because they are out of the area, an emergency arises, or just because they feel more comfortable having this safety net in place. These documents do not remove your child’s rights to make their own decisions. Instead, they ensure that you have access and the ability to handle things for them if they wish.
What Is a Medical Power of Attorney
A medical power of attorney, or healthcare power of attorney, provides a legal framework in which your adult child can allow you to make medical decisions on their behalf, or appoint another trusted person to make these decisions for them.
According to the Attorney General of the State of Arizona, a healthcare power of attorney allows your college age child to name an agent (probably you) to do the following on their behalf:
- Make future healthcare decisions on their behalf if they are unable to make them
- Request or decline an autopsy
- Donate their organs
- Make funeral and burial arrangements
- Access their personal protected healthcare information and medical records
Your child can also put their own wishes about medical decisions they want to make for themselves in writing so their agent does not have to make these decisions for them.
What Is a Financial Power of Attorney?
Your child may have financial needs they may need you to take care of in their absence, such as renewing tags on their vehicle, paying for their insurance, or depositing funds into their bank account. This is where the financial power of attorney comes in.
The general power of attorney under §14-5501 of the Arizona Revised Statutes allows your college age child to name a trusted person (their agent) to do the following on their behalf:
- Withdraw and deposit funds from bank accounts belonging to them
- Remove or entering contents of a safe deposit box
- Demand payment for money owed to them
- Borrow money on their behalf
- Loan money
- Buy or sell real property
- Collect rents on any real property they own
- Lease real property on their behalf
- Buy or sell personal property
- Conduct business transactions on their behalf
- Handle any other financial transaction they would otherwise have the right to handle themselves
Your adult child can determine the extent of the powers they want to provide you, when these powers become effective, and whether they will remain in place if they become disabled (be durable).
What Is a Living Will?
According to the Attorney General of the State of Arizona, a living will allows your adult age child to determine the type of medical treatment they would want to receive in case of a terminal condition. Through a living will, your child can determine their preferences for the following:
- Whether they want life-sustaining treatment other than comfort care
- Whether they wish to be resuscitated
- Whether they wish to receive IV fluids and nutrition
- Whether they want to have feeding tubes or other forms of artificial administration of food or fluids
- Whether they wish to be transported to the hospital or stay at home
- Whether they wish to receive medical treatment if they are pregnant and want the pregnancy to remain viable
Your child can also add special instructions for any other medical preferences they wish to communicate, but it is important to note that if the same individual wishes to have both a living will and a healthcare power of attorney, in Arizona the living will must be attached to the healthcare power of attorney to ensure that the documents are both valid and not in conflict.
Other Important Documents To Put in Place
In addition to the medical power of attorney, financial power of attorney, and living will, there are a variety of other forms young adults entering college may wish to prepare before leaving home, especially if they are attending college in another state. Some examples include:
HIPAA Release Form
Once your child turns 18, you no longer have the automatic authority to make healthcare decisions for your child, even if you pay for their health insurance. If your child gets into a car accident, becomes ill, or has mental health problems, you could be blocked from learning this information unless you take the invasive and expensive option of obtaining a court order stating otherwise.
While young adults are legally entitled to their privacy, many college students have no objection to making their essential medical information available to their parents upon request. In these cases, a HIPAA release form will give you access to your child’s private medical information, which may allow you to recognize a problem or intervene sooner if a problem does arise.
Educational Release Form
Even though you may be paying for your child’s education, you do not have the right to their education information under federal law. College students who wish to waive this right to privacy, either because their parents are paying for tuition or simply because they wish to be transparent regarding their educational progress, can sign an educational release form with their college or university, allowing their parents to access protected information regarding their educational history.
How a Lawyer Can Help
Determining which types of legal and practical supports to put in place as your child is entering this new stage of their life can be intimidating. An estate planning lawyer from Harrison Law, PLLC can help by:
- Explaining the various estate planning documents to young adults
- Determining which documents would be helpful under your particular circumstances
- Drafting estate planning documents
- Ensuring that the proper formalities are filed
- Determining whether estate planning documents should be executed in other states
- Providing witnesses to ensure the documents are legally valid and explaining rules on which types of witnesses should not sign such documents
Contact a Knowledgeable Estate Planning Lawyer for Help
If you think your child could benefit from a medical power of attorney, financial power of attorney, living will, or other estate planning document, consider contacting Harrison Law, PLLC for help. You can schedule a confidential consultation for you and your adult college student by calling (480) 320-2310.
© 2023 Matthew W. Harrison and Harrison Law, PLLC All Rights Reserved
This website and article have been prepared by Harrison Law, PLLC for informational purposes only and does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal or financial advice. The information is not provided in the course of an attorney-client relationship and is not intended to substitute for legal advice from an attorney licensed in your jurisdiction.
