Are you Legally Prepared for College?
How to Make Legal Preparations for College
Sending Your Child Off to College?
Okay, you have completed the college application process and the financial aid documentation, picked a school, attended freshman orientation, spent way too much at Bed Bath & Beyond to set up the perfect dorm room,
Maybe you even bought a membership with AAA, as you tried to think of everything in sending your child off to college. Congratulations on this exciting time.
Unfortunately, because it is not something that you even consider happening to your child, you, most likely, have not fully prepared.
Prepare for the Unexpected
Without trying to scare anyone, we sometimes have to discuss and consider the unthinkable.
What if your child, while off at college, maybe even in another state, is involved in a serious accident and is hospitalized and possibly even incapacitated, whether for a short period or longer?
While it is emotionally gut-wrenching to speak about this, a terrible situation could become even worse if you have not prepared in advance. A hospital staff is not legally allowed to share with parents or take directions if parents cannot show they have the authority to receive medical information and make medical decisions for their adult child.
So, without a HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) release and a medical power of attorney, signed by your adult child, authorizing you to access medical records and make medical decisions on his or her behalf if incapacitated, you very well could end up fighting the hospital staff over this at a time when your efforts should be solely centered upon your child.
What Legal Documents Do I Need For My College Students?
*A Directive to Physicians would come into play if your child was in a coma and the doctors believed that he/she would not come out of it. The document would allow your child to choose to either allow the doctors to make the call at their discretion or make the call themselves ahead of time.
Why is it Important to Have Legal Documents in Place for My College Student?
Heaven forbid it ever happens, but can you imagine fighting with the hospital staff over information about your child and life-saving decisions that may need to be made?
To avoid this ever possibly happening, you should have your child execute these documents prior to them going off to college. In that time that we all hope does not come, you do not have to deal with more than your child’s well-being.
How Do I Use These Legal Documents for My College Student?
You should have these documents prepared and signed by your child and put the originals in your safe at home – sending a copy with your child. Keep them right next to your Estate Plan (i.e., will and attendant documents). Don’t have an Estate Plan for yourself? We can help with that, too.
Get these legal documents in place for your college-aged son or daughter, and you’ll have one less issue to worry about as your child enters this new phase of their life . . . college.
Tim Mendolia
Managing Partner
M&P Law Offices
A general practice based in Parker County, Texas, offering legal services estate planning, criminal defense, family law, and business law since 1994.
