Q & A:
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Q: What estate planning documents should my son/daughter, who just turned 18 and is planning to attend college in the fall, have in place?
-Prudent Papa
ANSWER
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A: Dear Prudent:
At age 18, your son/daughter is now an adult in the eyes of the law. This means you no longer have the authority to make decisions regarding his/her medical care, nor will you have access to his finances if something happens to him/her.
Since you are no longer in charge, your son’s/daughter’s greatest liability from a planning perspective is what would happen if he/she were incapacitated by illness or injury and become unable to make decisions on his/her own behalf. To prepare for this scenario, you should have your son/daughter sign three key documents: medical power of attorney, a living will, and durable financial power of attorney.
Medical power of attorney allows your son/daughter to grant you (or someone else) the legal authority to make healthcare decisions on his behalf in the event he/she is incapacitated and unable to make decisions for himself/herself. Used in conjunction with medical power of attorney, a living will provides specific guidance about how your son/daughter would want his medical decisions made in the event he/she is incapacitated.
Finally, if your son/daughter is incapacitated, you may also need the ability to access and manage his/her finances, and this is done with durable financial power of attorney, which gives you the authority to manage his/her financial and legal matters, such as paying tuition and managing his/her bank accounts.
As your Personal Family Lawyer®, we can help you create each of these documents to ensure your son/daughter is adequately protected as he begins his/her new life as a young adult.
