You may be wondering why a college student needs estate planning documents—aren’t those just for older, established people? Not at all.

Most incoming college students are now (or will soon be) 18, and considered adults under the law. This means that hospitals and medical personnel are no longer required to ask the parent’s permission before performing medical procedures. In fact, once your child is 18 health care providers are no longer required to share information with the parents at all.

Most college students (and parents) are unaware of this side-effect of turning 18, and parents and children alike can run into frustrating roadblocks should an accident occur. You can avoid these roadblocks by simply having your young adult execute the two simple documents mentioned in this blog post.

A Healthcare Directive can be an in depth document or a very simple one, but the most important part for your new 18 year old will be the nomination of a healthcare agent. A healthcare agent is the person who will make medical decisions for your child if he or she is unable to make them alone.

A HIPPA Authorization Form addresses the issue of security and privacy of health data. In a HIPAA form your child can list the people who have permission to receive information about his or her medical records and status.

For a fledgling 18 year old these two documents are of the utmost importance, and with the right help, they are very easy to execute. Don’t wait until it’s too late; make sure your young adult has these documents completed before they leave the nest.

There is a way around the strict privacy laws, a way that is fool-proof and perfectly legal—and it’s something our firm can help you with.  A comprehensive Health Care Directive and a signed HIPAA Authorization are your tickets to a cooperative relationship with the hospital staff. But these documents, these “tickets”, require forethought and planning before you end up in the hospital.

An estate plan created with our office includes not only financial documents, but also any documents you’ll need to ensure that your wishes for medical care are followed. Don’t wait until the last minute.  You never know what fate may have in store, and your procrastination can result in your loved one being left frightened and in the dark.

You may think that your plan is simple, your assets haven’t changed, and so changes in the estate tax law won’t affect you, but as this article points out, it’s not just changes in the estate tax law that can impact your estate plan. “A law change that inadvertently has affected some estate plans in recent years is the law protecting medical privacy (commonly referred to as HIPAA or Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act). This law, while protecting your privacy, can be a problem if you become incapacitated, and someone who is supposed to act on your behalf cannot get the necessary information.” Does your estate plan include an updated HIPAA? Ours do.

Inevitable life changes are another reason to update your estate plan regularly. These include changing friendships or family relationships, the births or deaths of family members, your own changing medical needs, and more.

It’s not so hard to make an appointment with your estate planning attorney for a quick review of your plan to determine if it should be updated.  And chances are that most years changes won’t be sweeping but small, such as the inclusion of a HIPAA Authorization provision in your documents,  or the addition of a new grandchild in your plan of bequests. Don’t let the passage of time render your plan obsolete.