Do you have a son or daughter preparing to leave the nest for college, the military or a gap year? It may be the right time to start your young adult on the road to a well-planned estate.  You may be saying to yourself, “why does my now adult child need a plan when I don’t even have one myself? The only things they have are the clothes on their backs and the car I purchased.”  

Having an estate plan is like having car insurance, health insurance, or life insurance. Nobody expects to get in a car accident, fall ill or die prematurely. But we can all agree that having insurance if needed is great. It relieves some of the stress of an unexpected situation. In the same vain, having an estate plan ensures that your child has identified an adult, which may or may not be you, to step in and manage their health and financial affairs if needed without court intervention. 

 As the summer winds down, don’t let your student leave home without these four documents in their backpack: 

1. HIPAA Authorization: If properly executed, this legal document allows the individual(s), identified by your student, access to medical information about them, if needed.
2. Health Care Proxy or Power of Attorney for Health Care: Should your student experience an unexpected health crisis or accident that leaves them incapacitated, this legal document gives the individual(s), identified by your child, the authority to step in and make medical decisions on their behalf until they regain capacity.
3. Durable Power of Attorney: During your student’s incapacity, this legal document grants the individual(s), identified by your child, the legal authority to step in and manage your child’s financial affairs without court intervention.
4. Last Will and Testament: No parent expects their child at the start of their adult journey to experience an unexpected illness or death. However, life sometimes throws us a curve ball. Preparing a Will at the start of their journey allows your student to decide in advance what should happen to any assets acquired during their life and/or as a result of their unexpected death.  

While these four documents won’t insulate your student from the challenges of life, it will allow someone to act on their behalf if needed without the stress and cost of court intervention. And, if your estate plan is still on your to do list, now is a perfect time to get it done together. Why wait? Set the example.