Parental Estate Planning For The Young, New Adult In The Family

When our kids reach the age of majority, when they become legal adults, many parents appreciate the milestone, but don’t appreciate the legal ramifications of that milestone. Becoming a legal adult can create legal problems that many parents don’t anticipate.

No Right to Information

Imagine that your child is 19 or 20 or 21—basically, a young adult. One day, you learn that she is in the hospital. You rush to be by her side. When you get to the hospital, you can visit, but the doctors refuse to speak to you about her or her condition.

That’s because she’s a legal adult, and thus her health information is private and protected—even from you, as a parent.

The same goes if there are medical decisions to be made, that she cannot make for herself. You may not be consulted about the plan of medical care, nor does the doctor have to allow you to make those medical decisions.

HIPAA Releases

When we think of an estate plan, we often assume it’s just about documents that say who gets our stuff when we’re gone. But an estate plan can do more than that—it can address this very issue.

As part of your estate plan, your adult child can execute a HIPAA release in your favor, authorizing medical professionals to speak with you. The HIPAA release can be as broad or as limiting as your child may want. It can only encompass situations where the child is incapacitated, or can be limited to emergencies.

Power of Attorney

If your adult child is incapacitated, it’s more than a medical issue—she may have bills to pay or financial affairs that need attending to. A power of attorney can allow you the power to manage those things, and speak on your child’s behalf, in the event that she is incapacitated.

Again, the power of attorney can be as broad or as limited as your child may choose, and you can limit it to situations where your child is incapacitated, or where she is unable to speak on her own behalf. And, it can be revoked at the point when your child is able to make decisions by herself once again.

Educational Records

If your child is in school, and she is incapacitated or ill, you may need to access his or her educational records, or speak to educational personnel on her behalf. For example, you may have to inform the school she is infirm, alter her class schedule, or put her attendance on hold with the school or university.

Again, the school won’t allow you to do any of that, as she is an adult. But with permission (specifically, forms under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act or FERPA), your adult child can sign a form, allowing you to both access records, and speak about her education on and for her, in the event she cannot.

Estate planning is for everybody, regardless of age. Call the Torrance probate will and estate attorneys at Samuel Ford Law today.

Sources:

studentprivacy.ed.gov/ferpa

tularecounty.ca.gov/lawlibrary/forms/power-of-attorney/