It is April again, that time of year when spring finally arrives in Massachusetts, the snow is melting, and high school students everywhere find out where they will be attending college in the fall. Among the excitement of poring over course catalogs and memorizing dorm room locations, it is easy to forget that even students need health care proxies.
A health care proxy is a basic estate planning document in which the principal designates someone to act as their health care agent, who will make health care decisions for them if they are unable to do so themselves.
If you are confused as to why an eighteen year old would need an estate planning document, consider the following: that eighteen year old is a legal adult. It may seem obvious that the student’s parents would make any medical decisions in the event of an emergency, but that is simply not true. Adults are in charge of their own health care. Many health care facilities won’t even speak to someone who doesn’t have a valid health care proxy, regardless of the relationship between the parties.
To avoid this potentially frightening and frustrating situation, be certain your adult child has all their documents in place before heading off to school in the fall.
Julie R. Lackner, Esq.