3 Legal Documents Every Graduating Senior Needs
Do you have a senior graduating from high school this year? Before your son or daughter packs up for a summer internship, a vacation, or even their first semester of college, I would like to encourage you to think about what it means having a child who is now an “adult” in the eyes of the law.
From a legal standpoint, it means that you will now need written permission to make important medical or financial decisions on his or her behalf. For example, if your daughter is having a problem registering for fall classes because she is missing medical records, you can no longer just reach out to her doctor and access them without written permission from your daughter.
Worse, if your child is injured in an accident or becomes ill hundreds of miles away from home, you may be barred from making decisions or getting information about his or her care.
To avoid these circumstances, I would strongly encourage parents of graduating seniors to discuss these unique circumstances with their young adult child and then take some time this summer to help their child to create 3 simple documents. They are:
Health Care Power of Attorney- This document allows a young adult to appoint someone they trust (a parent) to be their healthcare agent. This individual would have the right to speak for the young adult in a medical emergency. It also specifies the type of care or life support the individual would want should they become incapacitated or left in a permanent vegetative state.
2. Financial Power of Attorney- Having a financial power of attorney is necessary to give someone (preferably a parent) permission to access any bank accounts and act financially on the young adult’s behalf if an emergency occurs. Such activities covered under the power of attorney include paying bills, buying or selling assets, applying for benefits, accessing electronic accounts and the opening and closing of accounts.
3. Signed HIPAA Form- Parents should have their young adult pre-sign a HIPAA form to assure that either parent can immediately communicate with physicians and access important medical records in the event the young adult has experienced a medical emergency.
Finally, for added protection, I also recommend creating an ICE Card (In Case Of Emergency) to be kept in your child’s wallet and also creating an ICE Contact on the child’s smart phone listing the names of all approved emergency contacts, health insurance information, and all known allergies.
Remember, it’s a natural instinct to want to jump in and help your child in an emergency. Yet without these documents in place, you could be a helpless, frustrated spectator regarding your child’s care if he or she is unable to communicate. If you need help creating these legal documents before summer officially begins, please reach out to me at (918) 336-1722 in order to schedule a consultation.