College Students.
The day your child turns eighteen, you lose access to their hospital, their grades, and their bank account — federal law. Four documents restore all of it, done in one signing, and every parent of a college student should have them on file before the first semester begins.
One birthday changes everything.
On your child's 18th birthday three federal laws quietly change your life. HIPAA blocks doctors from telling you what happened in the ER. FERPA blocks the college from telling you they're on academic probation or in a mental-health withdrawal. And state law means their bank account, their apartment lease, and their car registration are their business — not yours. The paperwork isn't hard. But it has to exist before you need it.
The four-document package
- HIPAA authorization — hospitals will talk to you
- Healthcare power of attorney — you can make decisions
- Durable financial POA — you can move money in a pinch
- FERPA release — the college will tell you what's happening
Add-ons for common situations
- International POA & apostille for study abroad
- Mental-health advance directive for at-risk students
- Roth IRA & UTMA transition planning
- Cell phone, streaming & auto-insurance transition
- Digital-asset access (email, iCloud, password manager)
- Simple will if the student has meaningful assets
A short list of nightmares.
A concussion in the dorm and the ER won't return your calls. A study-abroad hospitalization in a country whose consulate needs a power of attorney within 48 hours. A mental-health withdrawal that the school won't discuss with you because there's no FERPA release on file. A frozen bank account after a fraud alert on spring break, and no way to unlock it remotely. Every one of these is a document problem — and every one is solved before the semester starts.
Frequently asked
Get the four documents on file before move-in day.
The $250 strategy session is credited toward the plan we build for you. Start with the intake so we walk in prepared.