So your son or daughter recently turned 18 years old? While this is an exciting time, it can also be slightly terrifying for parents. Whether your child has left the nest or is planted at home, as a legal adult both your child’s legal rights and your legal rights have changed. As legal adults, your child can now vote, work full-time, play the lottery, and even get married. However, many parents do not realize that this also means any rights regarding their children’s healthcare decisions have also changed. It’s important to note, that it does not matter if your child is still covered by your insurance – this does not give you any legal right to their medical information. While it might seem premature for 18-year-olds to sign estate planning documents, accidents and illness do happen. Regardless of whether there is a minor illness or (God forbid) a tragic accident, it’s important that parents are able to obtain information about their young adult children and help with any decision-making that may be necessary on their behalf. An executed Health Care Power of Attorney and a Durable General Power of Attorney avoids leaving parents in the dark in emergency situations.
A Health Care Power of Attorney is a legal document that allows another person, referred to as an agent, to make health care decisions on a patient’s behalf if the principal is unable to make medical decisions for himself or herself. If a person does not have a Health Care Power of Attorney, the default is that the physician is responsible for making decisions on the person’s behalf. While this may not seem problematic, there may be situations where a parent’s opinion differs from a doctor’s, such as undertaking certain procedures. Furthermore, without a Healthcare Power of Attorney, parents are not entitled to any information about their patient-child and are not required to be notified about their child’s condition.
A Durable General Power of Attorney (“DGPOA”) is an instrument that appoints a person, referred to as an attorney-in-fact, to make decisions on another person’s behalf for financial and legal purposes. This is an extremely powerful tool, as it allows the attorney-in-fact to access the person’s bank accounts, manage investments, and buy or sell property. A DGPOA may also provide the attorney-in-fact access to other types of records, such as student records. With children that are now legal adults, this tool allows parents to take control of their child’s affairs should their child need assistance. Without a DGPOA, parents will be very restricted in what information they are entitled to and what input they may have on their child’s financial and legal affairs.
The importance of a Health Care Power of Attorney and a DGPOA cannot be understated. Appointing parents to serve in these roles allows parents to make decisions in the best interest of their adult children should a need arise for them to do so. It is also important to note that these documents can be amended or revoked at any time. A Health Care Power of Attorney may have a limited effective period – specifying when an agent may have control (ex: during the four years of college). Although no parent ever wants to have to use these documents, it could be detrimental if a need occurs and these documents are not in place.
The highly-skilled attorneys in McCarthy Lebit’s Trust & Estates practice are available to assist and answer any questions you may have about the need to have these estate planning documents in place for your college-aged children. Please reach out to request a consultation so we can help you prepare these documents and protect your family.
