When your child turns 18, they are an adult in the eyes of the law. That means parents no longer have authority to access their health information or financial accounts, even in an emergency. In Oregon, smart planning through a simple set of documents solves this. Your young adult child should execute an Oregon Advance Directive appointing you as their health care representative, a HIPAA waiver allowing medical providers to share their medical information with you, and a financial Power of Attorney. If you want their college to provide you access to their student records, too, be sure to have them sign a FERPA release.
What were those key documents, again? Here’s a little more information:
1) Durable Financial Power of Attorney (POA)
A POA allows your student to authorize a trusted adult (that’s you) to handle money matters if they’re abroad, unavailable, or medically incapacitated for any reason. This will empower you to help with things that require dealing with banks, with paying rent, managing financial aid disbursements, and signing tax forms. Third parties must accept properly executed and notarized POAs.
2) Oregon Advance Directive for Health Care
If your child is incapacitated for any reason, who makes medical decisions on their behalf? The Oregon Advance Directive lets your student appoint you as their Health Care Representative, empowering you to make medical decisions if they cannot. We hope we never need to use this document, but planning for unforeseen emergencies is critical.
The Advance Directive appointing a Health Care Representative must be either notarized or witnessed by two witnesses. Oregon has its own statutory form for this, which OR health care professionals are familiar with.
If your child has experienced mental health crises in the past or has a serious ongoing condition, consider planning for this as well. Oregon recognizes a separate Declaration for Mental Health Treatment which your child can use to name an agent and give instructions specifically for psychiatric care.
3) HIPAA Release
A HIPAA authorization allows health care providers to share your student’s medical information with you, when needed. Without this form, if your adult child is incapacitated, healthcare providers may not be allowed to share information about their condition with you.
4) FERPA Release
College administration, campus clinics, and campus counseling centers designate records as “education records” or “treatment records” under FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act). They will require a student’s written consent before speaking with parents. Ask your child’s school which form it uses and have your student sign the appropriate FERPA release.
What happens if you do nothing?
- Money: Without a POA, parents often can’t access bank accounts, deal with a landlord, or untangle billing if their young adult child is incapacitated. In more serious cases, parents may need to petition the court to be named a conservator or guardian. This is an expensive, public, and time-consuming court process that can be avoidable.
- Medical decisions: Doctors will treat people in emergencies, but routine decisions can be delayed if a person who is medically incapacitated has not named a health care representative.
Practical tips for completing these documents before your student leaves for school
- Choose trusted agents – that’s probably you!
You child will pick one primary and at least one alternate person to empower to step in and help with both finances (POA) and health care (Advance Directive), if they become incapacitated. This is an opportunity to have a conversation with them about values and expectations. Oregon’s Advance Directive form in particular encourages such conversations. - Execute correctly!
Improper execution of legal documents is surprisingly common when folks grab templates from the internet (among other problems). For the Advance Directive’s Health Care Representative Appointment, use two qualified witnesses or a notary. For the POA, while notarization is not strictly required by statute, it is highly recommended (banks don’t tend to trust a POA that is not notarized). - Cover HIPAA and FERPA
Have your student sign a HIPAA authorization naming you and another trusted adult as people with whom healthcare providers may share otherwise protected medical information. Also, ask their university how it handles student health records and complete the proper FERPA medical-release form. - Share and store copies
Keep a copy of the documents somewhere safe, upload them to the student’s healthcare patient portal if they have one, and keep digital copies that are accessible at all times.
If you have questions or would like guidance in getting these key planning documents in place for your college student today, contact Bridgeport Law Group for a free consultation. We strongly recommend doing any estate planning work with an actual attorney. It ensures planning that is appropriate to you and your family’s situation is done, rather than simply downloading online templates that may or may not lead where we want them to. Also, working with an attorney ensures all documents are properly executed (you’d be shocked how often details are missed!). You can reach us at 503-620-0114 or email us at info@bridgeportlawgroup.com.