College students need estate plans too!

Well, well, well, you packed your things moved into your dorm, made some friends, rocked your mid-terms and finals and enjoyed your winter break! Now it’s back to school to start your next semester. This is a ritual you will perform, or have been performing, for 4-5 years and is one of a myriad of ways that teenagers transition to adulthood. You leave your families and caregivers and head off into an environment where you are treated as the adult the adult in the room. But you are prepared for this! You have been planning for these moments directly and indirectly all throughout your middle and high school years. Your families have given you all of the instruction they know how and you have worked your butt off to be where you are. So much freedom…and so much responsibility. Did you know that without written consent your parents are not able to access your school records? Hold on, that might sound promising but they also cannot gain access to your medical records or your bank account? Which maybe also sounds promising but before you say great and click away hear me out. As an adult you have the same rights as every other adult you’ve ever known. You sign your own signature and you can grant access to whom you want with respect to certain confidential information. For parents or grandparents reading this post this is something you should speak to your young adults about whether they have gone off to college or are staying at home. You should talk to them about it even if they have decided not to attend college but have reached the age of 18. In an emergency, as next of kin, you might make the final decision on say a surgery if they are unable to make it for themselves for some reason. However, you will have to do this without the benefit of access to any of the private information in their records. What medications are they taking, have they been treated recently for this or that, might be important to know when you are deciding what to do. All adults have a right to privacy and once you turn 18 you are legally an adult. So yes college kids need estate plans. Estate plans aren't just about passing your things along when you die, they are also about who can make medical or financial decisions for you if you were temporarily unable to do so. Can this legal obstacle be overcome with a court order? Yes it absolutely can, but it will take time, sometimes too much time when you’re in an emergency situation. As an adult you should know that a living will would allow you to give permission to whomever you choose to make medical or financial decisions on your behalf if something were to happen to you. These documents would also make it very easy for them to gain access to records or even to pay your bills in the event that you are temporarily unable to do so yourself. Not really the sexy part of adulthood I know, but it is a very important act of self-care. You’ve been rocking this adult thing so far, let’s keep it going! Get an estate plan for yourself, or parents assist you young adult with getting this done, you’ll both be glad you did.