Sending a child off to college involves tuition payments, housing arrangements, class schedules, health insurance, and countless other preparations.
But there is another important item that many families overlook: legal planning.
Once your child turns 18, he or she is legally an adult. That remains true even if you pay the tuition, provide most of your child’s financial support, carry your child on your health insurance, and still think of yourself as the person responsible for stepping in during an emergency.
The change can have significant consequences.
Medical providers, financial institutions, universities, and other organizations generally cannot simply give parents access to an adult child’s private information or allow parents to make decisions on the student’s behalf.
If your college student becomes seriously ill, is injured in an accident, or cannot manage financial matters, you may discover that being the parent is not, by itself, enough to give you the legal authority to help.
Fortunately, a few relatively simple estate planning documents can help prepare for that possibility.
Does a College Student Really Need an Estate Plan?
Yes, although estate planning for an 18- or 19-year-old usually looks very different from estate planning for an older adult.
Most college students are not worried about estate taxes, complicated trusts, or transferring substantial assets to the next generation.
Their more immediate estate planning concern is incapacity.
If a young adult becomes unconscious, seriously ill, or otherwise unable to handle medical or financial matters, someone may need legal authority to step in.
For most college students, the three most important documents are:
- A Durable Power of Attorney;
- A Medical or Health Care Power of Attorney; and
- A HIPAA Authorization.
These documents can allow a student to decide in advance who should have access to information and who should act if an emergency occurs.
What Changes When Your Child Turns 18?
For the first 18 years of a child’s life, parents generally make medical and financial decisions for their minor children.
That changes when the child reaches adulthood.
Turning 18 means your child generally gains legal control over his or her own:
- Medical information;
- Health care decisions;
- Financial accounts;
- Contracts;
- Education records; and
- Other private information.
Your child may still depend on you financially, but financial dependence does not give you automatic decision-making authority.
You may pay the health insurance premium and still be unable to obtain detailed medical information from a hospital without appropriate authorization.
You may pay the rent and tuition and still lack authority to access your child’s bank account or handle other financial transactions for the student.
That is why legal planning should ideally happen around the time a child turns 18 rather than after an emergency occurs.
The 3 Estate Planning Documents Every College Student Should Have
1. Durable Power of Attorney
A Durable Power of Attorney allows a young adult to appoint someone they trust to handle specified financial and legal matters on their behalf.
The person appointed is generally called an agent or attorney-in-fact.
Depending on the document and applicable state law, the agent’s authority may begin immediately or may become effective only after the student becomes incapacitated.
A properly drafted Durable Power of Attorney can potentially allow an agent to handle matters such as:
- Paying bills;
- Managing bank accounts;
- Dealing with financial institutions;
- Handling insurance matters;
- Managing leases or housing issues;
- Applying for government benefits;
- Handling certain tax matters; and
- Managing other financial or legal transactions authorized by the document.
Imagine that your college student is seriously injured in an accident and remains unconscious for several weeks.
Rent may still be due. Credit card bills may need to be paid. Insurance paperwork may need attention. There may be bank accounts or other financial matters that cannot simply be ignored until the student recovers.
A Durable Power of Attorney can give the person your student selected the authority to handle those matters.
Why Isn’t Being the Parent Enough?
Once your child is an adult, you do not automatically have legal authority over the child’s finances.
A bank or other financial institution may therefore refuse to allow you to access an account or conduct transactions merely because you identify yourself as the student’s parent.
Without appropriate legal authority, the family could potentially face additional court proceedings if long-term incapacity makes financial management necessary.
For more information about financial and incapacity planning, see our incapacity planning and power of attorney services.
2. Medical Power of Attorney
A Medical Power of Attorney allows your college student to appoint a trusted person to make medical decisions if the student becomes unable to make those decisions personally.
The agent might be authorized to make decisions involving:
- Medical treatment;
- Surgery;
- Medication;
- Hospitals and treatment facilities;
- Physicians and other providers; and
- Other health care decisions permitted by applicable law.
As long as your student remains capable of making medical decisions, your student remains in control.
The agent’s role becomes important when illness or injury prevents the student from making or communicating those decisions.
Who Should a College Student Choose as Medical Agent?
Many college students name one or both parents, but the decision belongs to the student.
The person selected should be someone the student:
- Trusts completely;
- Believes will remain calm during an emergency;
- Can communicate effectively with doctors;
- Can understand complicated medical information;
- Will respect the student’s wishes rather than impose their own; and
- Can be reached when needed.
It can also be useful to name an alternate agent in case the first choice is unavailable.
3. HIPAA Authorization
A HIPAA Authorization serves a related but different purpose.
HIPAA—the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act—protects the privacy of a patient’s health information.
Once your child is an adult, HIPAA privacy protections apply to your child’s health information just as they apply to yours.
A HIPAA Authorization allows the student to identify the people with whom health care providers may share protected health information.
That can include information concerning:
- The student’s condition;
- Diagnosis;
- Treatment;
- Test results;
- Medications;
- Prognosis; and
- Other health information covered by the authorization.
Why Have Both a Medical Power of Attorney and HIPAA Authorization?
Parents sometimes assume that a Medical Power of Attorney makes a separate HIPAA Authorization unnecessary.
The documents serve different purposes.
A Medical Power of Attorney focuses primarily on decision-making authority when the student cannot make medical decisions.
A HIPAA Authorization focuses on access to protected medical information.
That distinction can matter before incapacity has been formally established.
For example, imagine your child is hospitalized after an accident but doctors have not yet determined whether the student is incapable of making medical decisions.
The Medical Power of Attorney may not yet give an agent authority to make decisions, while an appropriately drafted HIPAA Authorization may allow designated family members to receive information about the student’s condition.
Having both documents can therefore help avoid unnecessary gaps.
Can a Hospital Refuse to Give Parents Information About Their College Student?
Yes, depending on the circumstances.
This is often surprising to parents.
One of the original articles in this series was prompted by the experience of a mother whose daughter was injured in a car accident while attending college several hours away. The mother encountered difficulty obtaining information about her adult daughter’s condition because the student had privacy rights of her own.
That situation illustrates why planning before an emergency matters.
HIPAA does contain circumstances in which health care providers may exercise professional judgment about sharing information with family members, particularly in emergencies. But parents should not build an emergency plan around the assumption that a doctor or hospital will always be able or willing to disclose everything they want to know.
An appropriate written authorization provides substantially greater clarity.
What Happens if My College Student Is Unconscious?
If an adult student is unconscious or otherwise unable to communicate, medical professionals will provide emergency treatment as permitted by law.
The more difficult questions can arise afterward.
Who receives detailed information about the student’s condition?
Who can participate in medical decisions if choices have to be made?
Who can handle the student’s financial affairs while the student is hospitalized?
A Medical Power of Attorney, HIPAA Authorization, and Durable Power of Attorney address different parts of that problem.
Without those documents, parents may encounter unnecessary delays or potentially need legal assistance to obtain authority to act if incapacity continues.
How Will Parents Know if a College Student Has a Medical Emergency Away From Home?
Legal documents can give parents authority to obtain information, but they do not necessarily guarantee that parents will immediately be notified when an emergency occurs.
Students attending college far from home should therefore consider practical emergency planning as well.
Useful steps can include:
- Listing parents or other trusted individuals as emergency contacts with the university;
- Adding emergency contacts to the student’s phone;
- Using the phone’s medical ID or emergency-information feature;
- Giving trusted family members copies of relevant health care documents;
- Keeping accessible electronic copies of important documents;
- Providing the school or appropriate medical provider with documents when useful; and
- Making sure roommates or close friends know whom to contact in an emergency.
The original articles also recommended services that stored health care directives electronically and provided emergency-access cards. Technology has changed significantly since those articles were written, but the underlying advice remains sound: documents are only useful in an emergency if the people who need them can find them.
Where Should a College Student Keep Powers of Attorney and HIPAA Documents?
Students and parents should have a practical plan for accessing the documents quickly.
Depending on the document and applicable law, consider keeping:
- The original in a secure but accessible location;
- A digital copy in secure cloud storage;
- A copy with the named agent;
- A copy with parents or another trusted person;
- A copy with a primary care physician, when appropriate; and
- Information on the student’s phone identifying whom emergency personnel should contact.
A document locked in a safe that no one can access during an emergency may not be very useful when time matters.
At the same time, these documents contain personal information, so they should not be posted or stored carelessly.
Should College Students Have a Will?
For many students, incapacity documents are the immediate priority, but some young adults should also consider a Will.
A Will becomes more relevant if the student owns meaningful assets or has specific wishes about what should happen to property at death.
For example, a college student may own:
- A vehicle;
- Investment or brokerage accounts;
- Cryptocurrency;
- A business interest;
- Valuable personal property;
- Intellectual property;
- Online businesses or monetized digital assets; or
- Property inherited from a grandparent or other relative.
Without a valid Will or another effective beneficiary arrangement, property may pass according to the intestacy laws of the student’s state.
A young adult with few assets may not need an elaborate Will, but the question should be considered as part of the broader planning discussion.
What About Digital Assets and Online Accounts?
Today’s college students often have a substantial digital footprint even when they own relatively little traditional property.
That may include:
- Email accounts;
- Social media profiles;
- Cloud storage;
- Cryptocurrency;
- Websites and domain names;
- Online businesses;
- Digital photographs;
- Subscription accounts; and
- Electronic financial records.
Students should consider how trusted people could locate important digital information if they become incapacitated.
That does not mean sharing passwords casually. A secure password manager, documented emergency-access plan, and appropriately drafted estate planning documents can be safer options.
Do College Students Need an Advance Directive or Living Will?
Depending on state law and the student’s preferences, an advance directive may also be appropriate.
An advance directive—sometimes called a living will—allows an adult to record preferences about certain medical treatment if specified serious medical circumstances arise and the person cannot communicate those wishes.
This document serves a different function from a Medical Power of Attorney.
The Medical Power of Attorney identifies who should make medical decisions. An advance directive provides guidance about what the individual wants in specified circumstances.
Not every family views an advance directive as essential for a college student, but it is worth discussing when creating incapacity documents.
What if My College Student Goes to School in Another State?
This is common and deserves special attention.
Your child may be a resident of Texas or North Carolina but attend school in another state. Powers of attorney and health care documents are governed by state law, and execution requirements can vary.
A document validly executed in one state may often receive recognition elsewhere, but practical issues can still occur when a hospital, bank, or other institution is unfamiliar with an out-of-state form.
If your child will spend most of the year in another state, discuss that fact with the attorney preparing the documents.
It may be appropriate to consider:
- The student’s legal residence;
- The state where the student attends school;
- Where medical care is most likely to be provided;
- Whether the document complies with the relevant state’s law; and
- Whether additional state-specific documents would be useful.
Do Parents Have Access to College Records After a Child Turns 18?
Medical privacy is not the only area where legal adulthood changes a parent’s access.
Federal education privacy laws can also restrict access to a college student’s educational records.
A parent paying tuition does not automatically have unrestricted access to every academic or disciplinary record.
Universities typically have their own authorization procedures through which students can permit certain disclosures.
Those school-specific authorizations are separate from a Durable Power of Attorney, Medical Power of Attorney, and HIPAA Authorization.
Can Parents Sign These Documents for Their Child?
No.
The student is the adult granting the authority.
Parents cannot simply prepare and sign a power of attorney on the child’s behalf because they believe it would be helpful.
The student must voluntarily choose:
- Whether to execute the documents;
- Whom to appoint;
- What authority to grant; and
- When that authority should apply, where the law permits different options.
This is an important distinction.
Estate planning for a college student is ultimately the student’s estate plan—not the parent’s.
Can a Student Name Both Parents?
Potentially, yes, depending on the particular document and state law.
But naming multiple agents requires considering how they will act.
Questions include:
- Can either parent act independently?
- Must both agree?
- What happens if one parent cannot be reached?
- Would requiring joint action cause delays?
- Should one person be the primary agent and another the alternate?
The most practical arrangement depends on the family.
The student’s priority should be selecting people who are trustworthy, available, and capable of acting effectively during a stressful situation.
When Should College Students Sign These Documents?
Ideally, soon after turning 18 and before leaving home for college, military service, a gap year, employment, or other independent living arrangements.
High school graduation is a useful reminder because it often coincides with legal adulthood and greater independence.
Families already spend this period completing financial-aid forms, housing agreements, health forms, and enrollment paperwork. Adding basic incapacity planning to the graduation checklist can prevent significant problems later.
There is no need to wait until the student physically moves into a dormitory.
Are Powers of Attorney Only Important During a Pandemic?
No.
One of the original articles in this series was written during the COVID-19 pandemic, when concerns about students becoming seriously ill far from home were especially prominent.
But the underlying planning issue was not specific to COVID-19.
Young adults can become incapacitated because of:
- Car accidents;
- Sports injuries;
- Unexpected illnesses;
- Mental health crises;
- Surgery;
- Travel emergencies; or
- Other unforeseen events.
The need for powers of attorney and health care authorizations therefore remains relevant regardless of public-health conditions.
Do Students Need to Update These Documents After College?
Yes.
Estate planning documents should evolve as the student’s life changes.
A student who names a parent at 18 may later prefer to name a spouse, partner, sibling, or another trusted person.
Documents should be reviewed after significant life events such as:
- Graduating from college;
- Starting a career;
- Moving to another state;
- Marriage;
- Divorce;
- Having a child;
- Purchasing a home;
- Acquiring significant assets; or
- A change in the relationship with the current agent.
Estate planning should grow with the young adult rather than being treated as a one-time graduation task.
College Student Estate Planning Checklist
Before your student leaves for college, consider whether the following items have been addressed:
- Durable Power of Attorney;
- Medical or Health Care Power of Attorney;
- HIPAA Authorization;
- Advance directive, if appropriate;
- Will, if appropriate based on assets and circumstances;
- Emergency contacts with the university;
- Emergency contacts programmed into the student’s phone;
- Secure storage of estate planning documents;
- Copies available to the appropriate agents;
- Review of beneficiary designations on financial accounts;
- Digital asset and password-management plan; and
- Review of the documents if the student attends school in another state.
Frequently Asked Questions About Estate Planning for College Students
Does an 18-year-old college student need estate planning?
Yes. Once a student turns 18, parents generally no longer have automatic legal authority to access private medical or financial information or make decisions for the student. Basic incapacity documents can address those issues.
What are the three most important legal documents for a college student?
For most students, the three core documents are a Durable Power of Attorney, Medical or Health Care Power of Attorney, and HIPAA Authorization.
Can I get medical information about my 18-year-old child?
Not automatically. Once your child is an adult, medical privacy rules apply to the child’s protected health information. A HIPAA Authorization can identify people who are permitted to receive specified information.
Can I make medical decisions for my college student in an emergency?
Being the parent of an adult student does not automatically give you comprehensive medical decision-making authority. A Medical Power of Attorney allows the student to select the person who should act if the student cannot make medical decisions.
Do I need power of attorney if I pay my child’s college tuition?
Financial support does not itself create legal authority to manage an adult child’s finances. A Durable Power of Attorney can give a trusted agent authority over financial matters within the scope of the document.
Does health insurance coverage give parents access to medical records?
No. Keeping an adult child on a parent’s health insurance does not by itself give the parent unrestricted access to the child’s protected health information.
Should my college student have both a HIPAA form and Medical Power of Attorney?
Generally, they serve complementary purposes. The Medical Power of Attorney addresses medical decision-making during incapacity, while a HIPAA Authorization addresses access to protected medical information.
Does a college student need a Will?
Some do. A Will becomes more important when the student owns meaningful assets or has specific preferences about who should inherit property. Incapacity documents are often the more immediate priority for young adults.
What if my child attends college in another state?
Tell the attorney preparing the documents. State laws governing powers of attorney and health care directives vary, and documents should be reviewed with the student’s residence and school location in mind.
When should my child sign these documents?
Soon after turning 18 and ideally before leaving home for college or another independent living arrangement.
Estate Planning Is Part of Preparing Your Child for Adulthood
Turning 18 is an exciting milestone. It is also a legal one.
Your child may still call you when the car breaks down, need help paying tuition, and depend on you for health insurance. But the law now recognizes your child as an adult with independent privacy and decision-making rights.
That independence is important. Estate planning does not take it away.
Instead, these documents allow your young adult to decide in advance whom they trust to help if an emergency makes it impossible to handle matters personally.
A Durable Power of Attorney, Medical Power of Attorney, and HIPAA Authorization can provide a relatively simple legal framework for dealing with an otherwise complicated emergency.
If your child has recently turned 18 or is preparing to leave for college, consider making basic incapacity planning part of the preparation for the next stage of life.
Learn more about incapacity planning and powers of attorney, or review our Texas estate planning services.
