039: What Legal Documents Does My 18-Year-Old Need?

It’s a phone call no parent wants to get. Their 18-year-old child has gone off to college, leaving the nest for the first time, and despite being the most level-headed and responsible teenager imaginable, they’ve landed in the hospital. Every parent's natural inclination is to do everything possible to help their child, but after attempting to talk with the treating physician, they’re told they cannot participate in their child’s care. After 18 years of making medical decisions on their child’s behalf, parents are now on the outside, looking in.

The reason? Passed in 1996, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) established a set of national standards for the protection of certain health information, but in doing so, the law also made it impossible for parents to participate or advise on their child’s medical care once they reach the age of 18 — unless that young adult has given express written permission for their parents to act as their agent in such a circumstance.

This is exactly what happened to estate planning attorney Laura Patton, our guest on the latest episode of A Place of Possibility™. Her son was off at college in Minnesota and had spent a late night playing video games with his friends. He slept in late, and after he woke up and showered, he passed out from dehydration, hitting his head on the corner of his dorm bed. His roommate took him to the emergency room and contacted Laura, who found herself absolutely terrified for her son. Even though she was an attorney, there was nothing she could do to help her child.

Her feeling of helplessness prompted Laura to seek a solution for young adults — and their parents — who could easily face this circumstance. She knew full well that consulting with an attorney to create the incapacity planning documents a young adult might need in this situation would be time-consuming and expensive. And, since most young adults haven’t amassed much in the way of financial or personal assets, creating a comprehensive estate plan for them was often overkill.

Her solution was to start Scholar Shield, an online service focused on creating customized, high-quality legal documents that are specifically geared toward young adults. Laura will chronicle her journey to coming up with this revolutionary approach to incapacity planning for young adults, as well as her own varied legal career path, and she’ll also explain the legal challenges that young adults face — challenges that HIPAA, despite its best intentions, has made more complex.

We’ll be talking about:

• The pervasive problem that faces parents whose kids are going off to college for the first time – how do they protect young adults while also encouraging their independence?
• How Laura’s own experience as a mother instilled in her a sense of urgency to come up with a solution that bridged the gap between no incapacity planning at all and traditional estate planning that is designed for asset distribution after death. 
• The cost and time-saving advantages that Scholar Shield offers over the more traditional process of consulting with an attorney. 
• When and why a family might want to explore a more comprehensive estate plan.

And more!

As a parent, you encounter a mixture of emotions when your child turns 18 and leaves for college — elation that they’re on a good path, but also some sadness that they’ll no longer be under your roof. And you’ll no doubt worry about them. Yet, even if they’re as responsible as possible, unforeseen events can happen. This episode will help you look after a young adult’s best interests and ensure that you, as a parent, are involved in their care should those circumstances arise.