Many people believe that estate planning is only for the elderly or those at retirement age. However, there are some documents and tools within estate planning that should be considered at a much earlier age. If you have a child that is about to leave for college or go on a gap-year trip there is one last thing that you should do as you prepare for the separation: ask your child to sign a durable power of attorney and health care proxy forms.
Why These Forms are Important
Estate planning forms like a durable power of attorney and health care proxy forms are important for a number of reasons. Without them, most states will not allow a parent of an adult child to make health care decisions or manage money for their kids. This applies even if the parent is paying for college, claiming the child as a dependent on tax returns, and still covers their kid for health insurance. Without these estate planning forms if your child is in an accident and becomes disabled, even temporarily, you would need a court order to make decisions on their behalf.
The risk for these possibilities is very real. Accidents are the leading cause of death for young adults, and over 250,000 people in the United States between the ages of 18 and 25 are hospitalized with nonlethal injuries every year. Without these documents, even finding out about your child’s medical condition can be a challenge, let alone gaining the authority to make medical choices on their behalf.
Why Some Children Do Not Want to Sign
A few different reasons have routinely been cited for why a child is hesitant to sign a durable power of attorney or health care proxy form. One big reason is because at this age, adult children are finally attempting to become independent for the first time. Most kids think that they know better, do not want their parent’s help, or want to try to do everything for themselves. Another major reason why children do not want to sign these documents is because as a power of attorney a parent can gain access to their child’s grades.
Different Ways to Approach the Situation
Even though at this age most children believe that their parents are clueless, there are ways to approach the subject of estate planning forms and becoming your adult child’s proxy. Gentle persuasion is usually the most effective technique. Explain that these documents can help in case of an emergency, wiring money to a bank account, and signing forms like an apartment lease when the child is gone.
Another tactic is to make the forms a condition of your child’s education or trip. In exchange for signing the estate planning documents, the parent agrees to help pay for college or time abroad. A final way of approaching the situation is to have an experienced estate planning attorney draft the forms as a back-to-school package. You all sit down as a group and have the attorney explain the significance and importance of the documents to your child.