Estate Planning for College Students

By Jenny Ling, Esq.

Congratulations!  You have done it – gotten your child from birth to age 18 successfully!  This is an exciting time for you as a parent, and for your child becoming an adult.  You may be making plans for your child to move away from home for the first time.  You have likely helped them make major decisions and dealt with financial and medical matters, but when your child turns 18, your rights as a parent in being able to assist your children in medical or financial affairs becomes significantly diminished. 

While your 18-year-old may still be a child to you, remember that he or she is now legally an adult. You will no longer be able to make your child’s health care decisions on their behalf.  And as parents, you also cannot act on your child’s behalf in financial transactions.

Your children probably don’t have many assets, but they still need to have legally enforceable instructions in place about who they authorize to handle their medical decisions and finances for them if they cannot due to incapacity.  Here are 3 important documents that every newly minted adult needs after he or she turns 18.

Health Care Power of Attorney

A Health Care Power of Attorney names a person to make medical decisions if they are unable to make them for themselves.  It allows you to work with doctors ensure that you child would get the care they would want if they become incapacitated.

HIPPA Waiver

You’ve likely helped your child make doctors appointments, ordered and picked up prescriptions and helped them keep track of necessary vaccinations.  This HIPPA Waiver allows you to continue to assist your child with their medical needs.  Without it, you may not even be able to find out if your child has been admitted to the hospital.  It’s important to note that HIPPA applies even if your child is still on your health insurance so this document is essential.

Durable Power of Attorney for Financial Matters

A Durable Power of Attorney for Financial Matters designates someone to make financial decisions for your child, either effective immediately or if they become incapacitated.  Without it, you would not have access to any bank accounts or college-related expenses that are in their name.  If your child was in the hospital or otherwise unavailable, without this Power of Attorney, you wouldn’t be able to help them end their lease or make other financial decisions.  This means that if a child is in the hospital for an extended period of time unable to act on his own behalf, the financial repercussions of failing to do things such as pay bills in a timely fashion can be long-lasting in the form of bad credit and collections.

Help Your College Student Make a Plan

No one wants to think about something bad happening to their child – no matter how old that child is.  But the absolute worst time to think about these documents is when you desperately need them.  Taking the time to Make a Plan and obtain and complete these documents can save a great deal of stress down the road. And, be sure to keep copies of all documents on your phone or computer so that you can easily access them if necessary.

For our clients who have completed an estate plan with our office, we offer these documents for your college age children at no charge. 

If you have a new college student, it may also be time to update your estate plan.  You may want to change beneficiary designations, or your power of attorney for financial or medical decisions.  If you made your estate plan when your child was young, the choices you made may not be the best choices any more.  Give us a call to review your estate plan and make sure it still makes sense for your family.

Jenny Ling is a partner at the Law Offices of Jenny Ling, PLLC.  She focuses her practices on estate planning, business succession planning, business and bankruptcy.