High school just ended and college or a new job is about to begin. Maybe your child is moving out of the house, or still living at home. They might still be on your insurance, driving your car, or eating you out of house and home, but nevertheless they are an adult. Your role as “parent” in their lives might not have changed much, but legally your status is very different—on their 18th birthday, you no longer have unlimited access and decision making.
Many parents are genuinely shocked to learn that when they call the hospital after learning their daughter has been in a car accident, that the hospital won’t release information to them. She might still seem like your young child, but she’s an adult now and the hospital needs a HIPAA release in order to provide you with information. Or, a financial institution won’t permit you to access your son’s account to pay his rent at off-campus housing without a document naming you as power of attorney.
Your 18 year-old child is legally no longer under your dominion. And as young adults, they should have three critical documents that grant others authority to act for them in some medical and financial situations: a HIPAA release, a healthcare power of attorney, and a financial power of attorney. (In Ohio, some of these documents overlap.)
The New Adult documents:
- HIPAA Authorization: most of us have heard of HIPAA. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act is a federal law that, among other things, protects the medical privacy of patients. If your child is 18 or older, medical providers, hospitals, etc. will not provide your child’s private medical information to a third party—including parents– without a release from your child.
- Healthcare Power of Attorney: a healthcare power of attorney grants the agent named in the document with the power to make healthcare decisions for your child if your child is unable to make them for himself or herself. If your son is in a car accident and the hospital can pursue different courses of treatment, it is the healthcare power of attorney who will make the decision on what to do if the son cannot. If there is no living will and end-of-life decisions must be made, it is the healthcare power of attorney who will make them. Additionally, if your child is receiving care you believe to be substandard, or you prefer treatment at a hospital you believe is better equipped to provide, you can choose to change hospitals (or doctors) if you are the agent in charge of your child’s healthcare.
- General Durable Power of Attorney (Finances): a financial power of attorney permits the person the child names as agent to handle financial matters on the child’s behalf. If your child becomes incapacitated, whether it requires a lengthy hospital stay or any type of incapacitation, a financial power of attorney permits the agent—likely you, the parent—to pay your child’s bills, enter or break a lease, manage bank accounts, pay taxes, among other actions. Likewise, it permits the parents to handle housing issues, and educational and financial institution matters.
I recommend these documents to kids who have turned 18 so that a parent can step in when needed. Most attorneys offer these documents separately; and some attorneys offer them together as “New Adult” packages as I do. Contact me at julie@juliemillslaw.com with any questions or to get started.
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