Thursday, June 30, 2011
Turning 18 Years of Age
TURNING 18 YEARS OF AGE
This time of year, we have high school graduations all over the country. In August, many of them will be freshmen at colleges. Perhaps you’ve dealt with the issues of housing, laptop computers, the cost of books and so on. Has your child given you a Power of Attorney?
Under Pennsylvania Law, once your child turns age 18, they are adults. It doesn’t matter that you are footing the bill for college tuition. When your child turns age 18, he or she is an adult in the eyes of the law. In effect, your rights as a parent have been terminated in many respects.
If your child has a medical emergency, you may have trouble having access to the confidential medical file. What if they need someone to make a medical decision? Our answer is that every child who is now an adult should sign a Healthcare Power of Attorney, a Living Will, and a Durable General Power of Attorney (to make financial decisions).
Under Federal Law (HIPAA), medical providers may not disclose confidential information about a patient without prior consent. Parents of college age children may not be given access just because they are a patient’s parent. As one of my colleagues wrote, “This was a major problem during the Virginia Tech tragedy when parents tried to contact hospitals in order to determine whether their child had been injured.” If your child signs a HIPPA Release, this pre-authorizes medical providers to speak with named individuals about a patient’s condition.
If your child is away at college, financial decisions can come up at home that involve them. You may not be able to address this since you are no longer in charge of their financial world. If you needed access to their school academic records, you will need a General Durable Power of Attorney that appoints you and gives you the authority to manage their financial and legal matters while they are away at school.
For parents of special needs kids (disabled), this is an especially difficult time when they become age 18. If the disability prevents the child from having the mental ability to execute a Power of Attorney, the parent will have to seek a legal guardianship in court in order to have continuing authority in the medical and financial matter for that child.
Yes, there is a lot going on when your child goes off to college. Granting you, the parents the power to make decisions, both financial and medical is pretty important stuff. It’s not as much fun as the packing, parties and goodbyes, but it will become very important should you need to renew a passport, a driver’s license, car registration or to make medical decisions in the event of an emergency.