If you have a kid headed off to college this year, they’re going to be more independent than they’ve ever been before and are legally adults. But they’re still your child and you want to be rest assured that if they need anything, you can be there for them. 

To make sure that you are, there are documents that every parent should have prepared for their adult child:

Health Care Power of Attorney
A Health Care Power of Attorney document determines who can make health care related decisions if the person is incapacitated. This document guarantees that you will be able to make medical decisions in the event that something happens to your child while they are at college. 

Financial Power of Attorney
A Financial Power of Attorney allows you to help your child with financial decisions such as managing bank accounts, signing tax returns or applying for financial aid.

HIPPA authorization form
A HIPPA authorization form gives you access to your child’s medical records. Without this, HIPPA prevents anyone from accessing a person’s health care information, including parents of adult children. 

A Will
A will may seem unnecessary for an upcoming college student, however, there may be hidden complexities. Does your child have thoughts about their social media or who should monitor their emails if something were to happen to them? Leaving for college and creating a will is a great time to instill responsibility in your adult children.

If something were to happen to your child at college, the last thing you want to deal with is legal roadblocks and these documents prevent that. It may seem like a lot, but in the end, it’s definitely worth it. 

If you are an existing client, we can do these as an add-on. Please reach out if you’ve got any questions. 

Happy planning!

B.B.

Disclaimer: The information on this website is for general information purposes only. Nothing on this site should be taken as legal advice for any individual case or situation. This information is not intended to create, and receipt or viewing does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship. Brittany Britton is licensed to practice law in the state of California only