It’s August, and that means it’s time to go back to school for many college students. If your child recently graduated from high school and is heading to college in the next few weeks, besides assembling the essentials — such as clothing, toiletries, bedding, and a laptop — consider having your child “pack” a few estate planning documents that he or she may need at this stage of life.

Needless to say, having all the necessary financial and medical documents may be more important than ever because of the COVID-19 pandemic. And even if your student is staying home to participate in online learning this year, having these documents prepared now can provide peace of mind when he or she returns to campus.

Let’s take a closer look at four such documents:

Health care power of attorney

With a health care power of attorney (sometimes referred to as a “health care proxy” or “durable medical power of attorney”), your child appoints someone — probably you or his or her other parent — to make health care decisions on his or her behalf should he or she be unable to do so. A health care power of attorney should provide guidance on how to make health care decisions. Although it’s impossible to anticipate every potential scenario, the document can provide guiding principles.

HIPAA authorization

To accompany the health care power of attorney, Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) authorization gives health care providers the ability to share information about your child’s medical condition with you. Absent a HIPAA authorization, making health care decisions could be more difficult.

Financial power of attorney

A financial power of attorney appoints someone to make financial decisions or execute transactions on your child’s behalf under certain circumstances. For example, a power of attorney might authorize you to handle your child’s financial affairs while he or she is out of the country studying abroad or, in the case of a “durable” power of attorney, incapacitated.

Will

Although your child is still in his or her upper teens or early twenties, he or she may not be too young to have a will drawn up. This is especially true if your child owns assets. A will is a legal document that arranges for the distribution of property after a person dies. It names an executor or personal representative who’ll be responsible for overseeing the estate as it goes through probate.

If you have questions about any of these documents, don’t hesitate to give us a call. We can help provide peace of mind that your child’s health and financial affairs are properly handled.

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DISCLAIMER

This blog post is designed to provide information about complex areas of tax law. The information contained in this blog post may change as a result of new tax legislation, Treasury Department regulations, Internal Revenue Service interpretations, or Judicial interpretations of existing tax law. This blog post is not intended to provide legal, accounting, or other professional services, and is provided with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional services.

This blog post should not be used as a substitute for professional advice. If legal advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent tax advisor should be sought.