When Your Baby Becomes a Legal Adult

Congratulations to all of this season’s graduates! Obtaining a certificate, diploma, or degree is hard work. Graduates deserve a celebration of all of the sacrifices they've made.

For those obtaining their high school diplomas, the diploma is commonly seen as a ticket to adulthood. Despite opinions as to whether or not turning 18 years old makes someone “grown”, turning 18 years old does turn a child into an adult in the eyes of the law. Some of this year’s graduates will soon be headed off to different parts of the state/country/world to start their careers or post-graduate education. Parents: while it might still feel like they’re your babies who depend on you, you’re not the boss of them anymore. (At least not on paper.) You have no more access to your child’s financial affairs or medical care than anyone else. For example, if your college student needs a copy of their high school records or maybe some kind of transfer to or from their hometown bank, you won’t be able to handle that for them without proper documentation. Another example is if, God forbid, your child gets hurt on the job and ends up unconscious in the hospital, you won’t be able to get access to them to help make medical decisions without proper documentation.

Not only are proper financial and medical power of attorney documents critically important in a true emergency, sometimes they’re just a very helpful convenience when someone is out-of-town for an extended period of time. While it’s usually the parents or legal guardians that are the primary power of attorney agents for a young-adult child’s financial and medical affairs, it’s often a good idea to add other agents at least as a backup. For example, if the child is temporarily or permanently moving far away, it might be good to have an aunt/uncle or family friend that’s closer to where the child is moving so that they can assist in a medical emergency.

It’s important to talk to an attorney about these and other legal matters to ensure that the correct power of attorney forms with the correct options are selected. Furthermore, an experienced attorney can help you navigate all of your family’s particulars to help protect everyone’s assets and well-being no matter what happens.

So for this graduation season, get your son or niece or grandchild the most spectacularly boring graduation gift ever: a set of power of attorney documents that will give your family piece of mind as they head out into the big, wild world.