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Sunday, September 27, 2020

Health Care Documents You Should Have in Place for Your College-Age Kid

Life in the times of the COVID-19 pandemic sometimes seems dominated by fear and anxiety. The potential of life-threatening illness looms in the air and many people feel lost as to what they can do to regain some sort of control over this new life. This can be especially true for parents that are sending their college-aids kids off to school. While campuses have made major efforts to put protections in place geared towards keeping staff and students as safe and healthy as possible, there is still that fear of what could be. One way to help find some peace of mind and regain a sense of control is to evaluate what legal tools you have in place to protect your college kid should some kind of health crisis befall them. Let us take a look at what health care documents you should have in place for your college-age kid.

Health Care Documents You Should Have in Place for Your College-Age Kid

When a person turns 18 years of age, they are legally deemed to be an adult. This not only means they are granted certain rights and responsibilities that come with legal adulthood, but it also means that parents lose certain rights relating to their son or daughter. For instance, parents may not have the same access to medical information pertaining to their child and they may not have the same ability to make medical decisions on behalf of their child. Because of this, parents could find themselves in an extremely difficult position should their kid be off at college and fall ill or be injured in an accident. The parents may not be able to find out where their son or daughter is receiving treatment, their status, or what treatment they are receiving.

In order to gain access to medical information relating to a child over the age of 18, parents should have a Health Insurance Portability and Accountability (HIPAA) release in place. The HIPAA release will grants parents access to important health care information relating to their adult-child. Without it, parents will likely be left in the dark as to many important aspects of their adult-child receiving medical care.

Parents should also consider a durable power of attorney for their college-age kid. A power of attorney can grant an agent the ability to conduct financial and legal business on behalf of the principal. The durability feature means that this power will remain in place even in the event of the principal becoming incapacitated. This means that parents could be empowered to handle financial and associated matters on behalf of their child should he or she be unable to do so for himself or herself.

A health care surrogate should also be considered by parents of college students. With a health care surrogate, a parent can be authorized to make crucial health care decisions on behalf of their child should he or she ever become incapacitated and unable to communicate such decisions. A living will can also be an important health care document to put in place. A living will can set forth the college students end of life treatment preferences should he or she ever be in a terminal, end of life treatment state. It can specify which treatments he or she would wish to receive or not receive in such a situation.

Estate Planning Attorney

Confronting these types of issues may not be easy, but they are necessary. No one is immune from the unforeseeable such as an accident or a sudden illness. Putting these health care documents in place is a concrete step you can take to protect your loved ones should tragedy strike. Monk Law is committed to helping our clients protect themselves and the ones they loved in some of life’s most serious situations. Contact Monk Law today.


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| Phone: 803-594-4453
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| Phone: 704-369-9977

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