By Ben Leonard, Esq.
As a soon-to-be college freshman many years ago, I was preoccupied with selecting roommates, finding bacteria-resistant shower shoes, and dreaming about the incredible freedom my 18-year-old adult self would have. Of course, it never occurred to me that it would have been prudent to have certain legal documents in place to make sure my parents could intervene on my behalf if I were injured, ill or incapacitated while I was away at school. This never occurred to my parents either! In fact, my mother and father did not fully appreciate that when I turned 18, at least in the eyes of the law, they no longer had any dominion over me.
Now that I am an estate planning attorney, I realize how lucky my parents and I were that I got through four years of undergrad and three years of law school unscathed. In hindsight, my parents and I would have enjoyed much greater peace of mind had we taken the following advice.
Parents are strongly advised to get these three simple documents in place before your adult child goes to or returns to college.
1. HIPAA Authorization Form
It’s not an easy scenario to think about, but let’s imagine that your 19-year-old son, while away at school three hours north, is involved in a severe car accident and is rushed to the hospital. When you find out about the accident, you immediately call the hospital to check on your son’s condition. You are horrified when the nurse says, “Sorry, due to HIPAA, I am not authorized to provide you with any information.”
HIPAA, or the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, exists for good reason; it is a federal law that safeguards who can access an adult’s private health data. In the above situation, the nurse is prohibited by law from revealing health information to you – or anybody else – about your adult child; healthcare practitioners could face lofty fines and jail time if they violate HIPAA laws.
This situation illustrates why a HIPAA authorization, signed by your adult child and naming you as an authorized party, is so critical. It gives you the ability to ask for and receive information from healthcare providers about your son or daughter’s health status, progress and treatment. This is particularly important in the event your adult child is unconscious or incapacitated for a period of time. Without a HIPAA authorization in place, the only other way to obtain information regarding your child’s health would be to have a court appoint you as his or her guardian.
Posted in Basic Estate Planning, Estate Planning, Guardians for Kids, Guardianship, Health Care, Millenials, Power of Attorney