It’s back-to-school season, and the infamous List has been circulating for months. 30 No. 2 pencils. 5 glue sticks. 2 containers of disinfecting wipes. A certain brand of markers in certain colors. By the time you make it to the bottom of the list, you’re left wondering whether your child is going to school or opening a small business.
If your child is heading off to college for the first time, the list looks a little different: Twin XL sheets, mattress topper, laundry detergent, enough Easy Mac cups to feed an army. But you may be forgetting about a few items that are not on that list (and they may be considerably more important than shower shoes).
Power of Attorney. Advance Directive. HIPAA Authorization.
Somewhere between dropping your child off at kindergarten and the last graduation party of the summer, something pretty significant happened: Your child turned 18. And under Tennessee law, that means your child is now a legal adult. So before you check the last item off your back-to-school list, here are a few legal “supplies” Tennessee parents and their college-aged children should consider.
Advance Directive for Health Care
One of the most important documents for an adult child to consider is an Advance Directive for Health Care. Tennessee law permits an adult to execute an advance directive by appointing another person, often called an agent, to make health care decisions on the adult’s behalf. An advance directive can also contain the individual’s wishes concerning medical treatment. Tennessee’s current Advance Directive for Health Care form also provides that the designated health care agent serves as the individual’s personal representative for purposes of federal and state health privacy laws, including HIPAA.
Why you need it: Imagine that your 19-year-old is attending college several hours from home and is seriously injured in an accident. If your child cannot make or communicate medical decisions, having a properly executed advance directive can establish who has authority to act and can reduce uncertainty during an already frightening situation.
For a college student, the health care agent will often be a parent, although the student, not the parent, decides whom to appoint. Importantly, this is your adult child’s document and your adult child’s decision. A parent should discuss the issue with the student, but the student chooses the agent and determines the authority he or she wishes to give.
HIPAA Authorization
Parents are often surprised to learn that once a child reaches adulthood, they may not automatically be entitled to obtain information about the child’s medical condition. The federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, also known as HIPAA, protects the privacy of an adult patient’s medical information. A HIPAA authorization can permit physicians, hospitals, mental-health providers, and other covered health care providers to communicate with the people identified by the student.
Why you need it: Three weeks into the semester your child texts you that they think they have the flu and need to see a doctor. You tell them to call and make an appointment. Their response: “How?” A HIPAA authorization allows you step in and communicate with their healthcare provider when your newly minted adult still needs a little help with the “adulting.”
Depending upon the documents used, HIPAA authority may already be incorporated into an advance directive or health care authorization. Nevertheless, families should review the documents carefully to determine exactly who may receive information, what information may be disclosed, and when the authorization applies.
Durable Financial Power of Attorney
A Durable Power of Attorney addresses a different problem: who can handle financial and legal matters if your college student cannot handle them personally? In a power of attorney, an adult child can designate a trusted person as his or her agent and specify the powers that person may exercise.
Depending upon how the document is drafted, those powers might include the authority to:
- deal with a bank or other financial institution;
- handle certain insurance matters;
- sign documents;
- address housing or lease issues;
- deal with personal property;
- communicate with financial institutions or other businesses; or
- handle other specified financial or legal matters.
The word “durable” is particularly important. A properly drafted durable power of attorney can remain effective despite the principal’s later incapacity.
Why you need it: After a late night of “studying,” your college student loses their wallet, and with it, their debit card and credit card. As they are rushing to that 8:00 am class, they ask you to deal with the bank. A Durable Power of Attorney can give you the authority to step in and handle financial or legal matters on their behalf when they can’t.
A power of attorney does not mean that your college student gives up control of his or her finances. Your child remains an adult and retains the ability to manage his or her own affairs. Instead, the document can provide another trusted person with authority to act when necessary, subject to the terms and limitations contained in the document. The appropriate scope of the power should be considered carefully. Some students and families may prefer broad authority, while others may want a much more limited document.
Parents spend eighteen years being legally responsible for their children and making countless decisions on their behalf. The transition can therefore feel abrupt for both parents and children. Independence is an important part of adulthood and creating these documents will help you usher your child into this next phase of life while allowing them to have some training wheels.
If your child has recently turned eighteen or is preparing to leave for college, our office can help your family understand what legal documents may be appropriate and ensure that they are properly prepared and executed under Tennessee law. Contact our office to schedule a consultation before your student heads to campus.