The Best 18th Birthday Gift isn’t Wrapped in a Box

No one expects an 18-year-old to experience a medical emergency or become temporarily unable to manage their own affairs, but accidents and unexpected illnesses can happen at any age.  Setting aside the time to get power of attorney documents in place when a child turns 18 is one of the most important and practical things a family can do.  

What Happens When a Child Turns 18
When a child turns 18, they become an adult in the eyes of the law.  Parents no longer have authority to make financial and medical decisions for their child.  Without powers of attorney in place, if a young adult becomes incapacitated due to illness, injury, or an emergency, their parents will not have the ability to access bank accounts, make medical decisions, or communicate with financial institutions and health care providers.  Imagine the following scenarios:

• Adult child is in a car accident and unconscious, and their parent can’t get updates or make treatment decisions without a health care power of attorney.
• Adult child loses their debit card while traveling and their parent can’t contact the child’s bank without a financial power of attorney.
• Adult child unexpectedly collapses at school, is stabilized but remains unconscious. The adult child’s health care providers do not know what happened and their parent cannot authorize treatment without a health care power of attorney.  

In these situations, without powers of attorney in place, a parent may need to petition a court for guardianship, which could take months and cost thousands of dollars, before they can make decisions on their child’s behalf under court supervision. 

How Power of Attorney Documents Can Help
Fortunately, many issues that arise when a child turns 18 are easy to address with proper planning.  Powers of attorney allow a young adult to proactively choose who will manage their health care decisions and financial affairs if they are unable to do so themselves.  Rather than leaving these decisions to a court, these documents authorize trusted individuals to step in when needed.

Health Care Power of Attorney and HIPAA Release and Authorization
A Health Care Power of Attorney authorizes a designated agent to make medical decisions on behalf of the principal.  Without a Health Care Power of Attorney, parents of an 18-year-old generally have no legal right to make medical decisions or receive medical information regarding their adult child.  Federal privacy rules under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”), reinforce this barrier by restricting disclosure of protected health information to people not authorized by the patient.  Executing a Health Care Power of Attorney and HIPAA Release and Authorization grants a parent or other trusted individual access to the young adult’s medical records and authority to make medical decisions and communicate with health care providers.

Financial Power of Attorney
A Financial Power of Attorney allows an individual, the “principal”, to give another individual, the “agent”, the authority to handle financial matters on their behalf.  For a young adult, this typically means authorizing a parent or other trusted individual to manage their bank accounts, pay bills, handle tax matters, communicate with landlords or financial aid offices, or otherwise take financial actions.

Bottom Line 
Whether your young adult child is living at home, leaving for college, traveling, or living independently, power of attorney documents can help ensure that the people they trust are able to step in when it matters most.