Legal Matters
Sending a child back to college usually means thinking about tuition, housing, books, and schedules. But once your child is legally an adult, there is another issue parents often discover only when something goes wrong: being a parent does not automatically give you authority to handle your child’s legal, financial, medical, or educational matters. In Alabama, the age of majority (legally an adult) is 19. At that point, your child generally has the legal rights and responsibilities of an adult. A parent who has always scheduled appointments, handled insurance questions, or helped with finances may suddenly have no automatic right to step in. Before your student returns to campus, consider discussing these documents and authorizations:
Durable Power of Attorney. This allows your child to name someone – often a parent – to handle financial and legal matters if needed. Depending on how it is drafted, the agent may be able to deal with banks, insurance companies, leases, bills, or other administrative matters if the student is unavailable or incapacitated.
Advance Directive for Health Care. An advance directive can state your child’s wishes concerning medical care and can name a health care proxy to make decisions if your child cannot communicate or make decisions independently. For a student living hours away from home, this can be especially important in an emergency.
HIPAA Authorization. HIPAA protects the privacy of medical information. Once your child is an adult, you are not automatically entitled to access medical records or participate in medical discussions simply because you are the parent, although HIPAA permits certain disclosures in limited circumstances. A properly prepared authorization can reduce uncertainty by allowing doctors, hospitals, and other providers to share information with the people your child chooses.
FERPA Authorization. College records are also protected. Under the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), rights to education records transfer to the student at age 18 or when the student attends a postsecondary institution, whichever occurs first. A parent may therefore be unable to obtain grades, schedules, billing details, disciplinary information, or other protected records without the student’s consent, subject to certain exceptions. Many colleges provide their own FERPA release process.
A simple will may also be appropriate, particularly if the student owns property, has financial accounts, or wants to direct who should receive personal or digital assets.
These documents are not about taking control away from a young adult. They are about allowing that young adult to decide, in advance, who can help if help is ever needed. A short conversation with your young adult child can prevent significant confusion during a medical, financial, or family emergency.
– Grady Carden, Esq.
Carden Legal Services
(205) 201-1297
[email protected]
www.CardenLegal.com
This article provides general educational information and is not a substitute for legal advice regarding a specific situation; it does not create an attorney-client relationship. No representation is made that the quality of the legal service to be performed is greater than the quality of service performed by other lawyers.
