Protecting Your Child During College Years

I was reading something troubling the other day: For the first time in generations, chocolate chip ice cream is no longer a top 10 selling flavor. Chocolate chip ice cream is now a “seasonal flavor.”

The culture has moved on. I thought I was still a part of the ice cream zeitgeist, not a demographic dinosaur. I was wrong.

Cookies and cream continues to dominate. So does chocolate chip cookie dough. People want sweeter and sweeter. Extra flavor whenever possible. I leaned the other direction. The simplicity of vanilla ice cream paired with a smattering of chocolate chips no longer resonates with Americans.

Some changes I can handle, but this is going too far.

Back to school estate planning is one change that is long overdue. When you send your 18-year-old to college, do you realize that their adult status may preclude you from making financial or health decisions on their behalf?

An 18-year-old is no longer a minor. Parents who attended universities in the 1980s and 90s remember their parents being able to handle most issues without a fuss. In those pre-internet, pre-HIPAA days, a student’s rights were not identified or protected in the same manner that exists today. Now, university administrators and officials are supremely aware of each individual student’s legal footprint.

So, how do we avoid a legal fissure separating parent and child during their college years? Simple. Create a Power of Attorney, Health Care Proxy, and HIPAA form with your child. These advance directives appoint agents (you) to make decisions for your children. 

Health Care Proxies are mainly used when a person cannot properly advocate for themselves. Only one parent can be a Health Care Proxy, with the other parent being an alternate.

A 2024 poll calculated that up to 38 percent of all college students suffered from an upper respiratory illness in the previous year. A similar poll showed that up to 36 percent of college students have received an anxiety diagnosis. The severity of both illnesses may not lead to incapacity triggering the use of a Health Care Proxy, but you can intuit how scenarios may arise that necessitate the use of a Proxy to help your child.

The real impact of being prepared means that a parent can easily communicate with a college’s health services to ensure proper care. Documentation is always better than no documentation, and this includes the use of a HIPAA form to share medical information.

Powers of Attorney for financial matters are more flexible. Your child can appoint one or both parents as their agent to handle finances, tuition and loan issues, and banking. The Power of Attorney document goes into effect immediately upon execution and operates regardless of whether the creator is incapacitated.

Just because the law says your 18-year-old is an adult, it does not mean they could not use some parental wisdom and financial support. For students residing outside of New York, it is also helpful to be aware of the laws of that state and the accepted advance directives of that state.

Back to school planning is no longer just a visit to a big box store and extra-long sheets. Having the right planning documents for your student will avoid problems when healthcare or money issues pop up far from home.

Alan D. Feller, Esq., is managing partner of The Feller Group, located at 572 Route 6, Suite 103, Mahopac. He can be reached at alandfeller@thefellergroup.com.