July 12, 2017

It’s easy for someone young and relatively healthy to push off estate planning entirely, but this could be a huge mistake. Anyone who has recently graduated from high school or reached age 18 has a couple of critical decisions to make. What happens if this 18-year-old suddenly becomes incapacitated and is unable to make decisions for himself or herself? 

Parents are no longer directly eligible to make decisions on a child’s behalf once this child has reached the age of maturity. This is why it is necessary as you are considering the packing process for sending your beloved child off to college at the end of the summer or off to a career, to consider the benefits of estate planning. You need a professional to assist you with this process as there are unique considerations for somebody who is young.

Having documents in place, like a healthcare power of attorney, articulates what happens if the minor becomes unable to become decisions for himself or herself. Identifying an attorney now can assist you with this process more comprehensively and give you an overview of the key issues involved that may ultimately affect someone.

Before making that big trip to drop off your child at college, talk about what he or she wants. Having these documents created over the summer will, at a minimum, give you the peace of mind that you can step in and act quickly if you need to. Your child may not understand the role of these documents, so budget in some time to talk about why this is important.

Updating these documents over the course of your child’s life is strongly recommended, but getting them in place now is a crucial component of protection.