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Powers of Attorney for Your Children 18 and Over and Questionnaire
When your child reaches the age of 18, the parents are no longer their legal guardians and can no longer make decisions for that child medically or financially. Therefore, if the 18-year-old is unable to make these decisions then the parent(s) must petition the court for an expensive and time-consuming guardianship.
An example of this would be if your child were involved in a bicycle accident and was unable to make medical or financial decisions for herself, then the parent could not immediately make those decisions unless the daughter had Powers of Attorney for Healthcare and Property as described below.
Power of Attorney for Healthcare is a document whereby your son or daughter appoints a person-usually a parent-to make healthcare decisions for them in case they cannot make them for themselves. If your child in the example above had this document then the appointed parent could immediately make decisions concerning her treatment, her physician, and any other healthcare matters.
Power of Attorney for Property is a document whereby the child of majority appoints a person, again usually a parent, to make decisions about the person’s financial affairs. This could be the payment of bills, the handling of investments and any other financial issues. Since this Power of Attorney should be effective at the time of signature by the child, the parent can use the document not only in a disability setting but also if the child is out of the country for school or military service.
OTHER DOCUMENTS THAT A COLLEGE BOUND STUDENT SHOULD HAVEHIPAA Waiver is a document that permits named persons access to information and documents that are covered by the Health Insurance Portability Act. This Federal Statute prevents 3rd persons from accessing personal data whether it be health or financial information.
FERPA is the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act. Remember, your child is an adult and so the information and records (including grades) concerning their education are private possessions of your son or daughter. Therefore, in order for the parent(s) to access the information and records, the student must give written consent to the school to disclose the information to 3rd parties, such as parents, guardians, future employers and other institutions.
Please follow this link to a Questionnaire which will assist us with drafting the documents
