Don't Let Your Adult Children Leave Home Without Signing These 3 Documents

As we head into the warmer months, many parents will see their children graduate high school, prepare to leave home, attend college or pursue other life goals. For parents of littler ones, this season can mean outdoor or sleep-away camps, summer field trips, and family vacations near and far from home.

It’s an exciting, and, sometimes, emotional time. With so much going on, estate planning is probably the last kind of planning on your mind. But I’d strongly suggest you move estate planning for your young adult to the very top of your list. 

Estate planning is critical to protect children of all ages, but today let’s focus on what happens when your child goes from a 17-year-old to an 18-year-old — when the law officially designates your child as a “legal adult.”  

Whether you think they’re ready for this kind of independence or responsibly does not matter in the eyes of the law. Legally, many areas of their life that were once under your control will become entirely their responsibility.

Here’s something to think about. If your 18-year-old were to get into a serious car accident and require hospitalization, you would no longer have the automatic authority to make decisions about his or her medical treatment or the ability to manage their financial affairs. Without legal documentation, you wouldn’t even be able to access your child’s medical records or bank accounts without a court order. 

To deal with this vulnerability and ensure your family never gets stuck in an expensive and unnecessary court process, before your kids “leave the nest,” have a conversation about some very basic but vital estate planning and make sure they understand and sign the following three documents. 

1. Medical Power of Attorney 

A medical power of attorney is an advance healthcare directive that allows your child to grant you (or someone else) the immediate legal authority to make healthcare decisions on their behalf if they become incapacitated and are unable to make these decisions themselves. 

If he or she is incapacitated in a car accident or falls into a coma due to a debilitating illness, a medical power of attorney allows you to legally make decisions on your child’s behalf. Without a medical power of attorney in place, in order for you to make decisions or get information, a court may have to become involved.

While a parent is typically the court’s first choice for a guardian, the guardianship process can be slow and expensive. In medical emergencies, time is of the essence, and a court process will be the absolute last thing you want to think about.

Also, due to HIPAA (health care privacy) laws, once your child becomes 18, no one—not even their parents—can legally access his or her medical records without prior written permission. But, a properly drafted medical power of attorney will include a signed HIPAA authorization, so you can immediately access your child’s medical records to make informed decisions about his or her treatment.

 2. Living Will 

The next important document is a living will. It’s an advance directive providing specific guidance about how medical decisions should be made, particularly at the end of life. A living will allow your child to decide if and when they want life support removed should they ever require it. In addition to documenting how your child wants their medical care managed, a living will can also include instructions about who should visit them in the hospital and even what kind of food they would want provided.

One of the most powerful parts about creating a living will is the opportunity to have open conversations with your child about what THEY would want to happen in a challenging and emotionally charged situation. Once you know how they feel and think about topics like intubation, ventilators, experimental medications, and organ donation, you’d never have to make an excruciating healthcare decision alone, always wondering what your child would have wanted. 

You’ll find a variety of medical power of attorney, living will, and other advance directive documents online. But, everyone is unique. Generic, fill-in-the-blank documents might not be your best option. I am here to work with you to plan and design, or, at the very least, review their advance directives. 

3. Durable Financial Power of Attorney 

If your adult child is incapacitated, you’ll likely need the ability to access and manage their finances and legal affairs. This requires your child to grant you durable financial power of attorney. Durable financial power of attorney allows you to do things like pay their tuition, apply for student loans, pay their rent, negotiate a lease, manage their bank accounts, and collect government benefits if necessary. Without this document, you would have to petition the court for such authority, which takes time and spikes everyone’s stress level. 

Start Adulthood on The Right Track 

Before your kids leave the nest, talk about at least these three documents with them. No one, no matter how young, vibrant and careful they are, is immune to an accident in their lifetime. Putting proper legal documents in place is so important to helping your family avoid a costly and emotional court process, while also demonstrating the importance of good financial and legal choices.

I Can Help.

As your Personal Family Lawyer®, I can evaluate your assets, assess your level of risk, and analyze your current insurance coverage to be sure you have the optimal level of umbrella coverage in place to safeguard your family’s wealth from today’s lawsuit-crazy culture. Contact me today to schedule your appointment.

Mention this article to find out how to get a $750 planning session with me at no charge.

While you should meet with me to put a full plan in place as soon as possible, I know protecting your minor children is such an urgent need in your mind that you won’t want to delay. I encourage you to get started right now. Click this link to find Kids’ Plan documents for $99. This digital download provides you with forms you can fill out and print at home. Once completed, take the forms to a notary with witnesses. You will rest easier knowing you have a complete set of legal guardianship documents, valid in Pennsylvania and its Court systems. 

After you’ve completed your Kids’ Plan, schedule a Planning and Design Session with me, where we will determine how to supplement the care of your children with your own estate planning to make sure anyone caring for your children when you can’t has immediate access to the assets to do so.  Anyone who purchases a Kids’ Plan will receive a $750 planning and design session with me at no charge and $250 off any level of my estate plans for themselves.