Hey there, Legal Tea Listeners –This is your host, Jenny Rozelle. Welcome back for another episode today! Today is a “current trends” topic where we talk about things going on currently that are relevant and pertinent to my estate and elder law world, and/or maybe things I’ve seen on the news or stumbled across on social media. Well, on today’s “current trends” episode, we’re going to talk about a timely topic … it’s back to school season, well it’s a little late to back to school season, but nonetheless, here we are. Today, we’re going to talk about something you may not have considered or ever thought about – it’s going to be on why it’s important for college-aged kids to have some very basic estate documents in place.
Estate planning is often not thought about when it comes to young adults – like college students. Not to mention, when college students DO estate planning, it’s not usually because they thought to do it – it’s usually either the parents thought about it (hint, hint!) OR the parents realize that, “Oh, my child is above the age of 18 and I can’t make their decisions anymore for them!” So, say something happens … they fall off their lofted bed, trip down the stairs, whatever … and they end up in the hospital. It’s very possible that you, as their parent, may hit some roadblocks because … well, you child is above the age of 18 now. They are considered an adult and THAT is why super basic estate documents may be desired for college students.
So, let’s talk about a few situations where having some estate documents would really be handy for college students to have in place – and we’ll discuss the documents that would support you and them in that situation. (pause) Up first, we’ve got studying abroad. If a college student elects to study abroad, having some basic documents in place BEFORE studying abroad would be helpful “just in case” something happens while they are in a foreign country.
First, it is important to have something called a healthcare proxy or medical power of attorney in place – This allows someone (often a parent) to make medical decisions if the student is incapacitated. Along these same lines, and in effort to not split hairs too much, it may be wise to consider also putting provisions in this document to basically say, “Hey, if I am unreachable (remember, there are often significant time changes – when it’s 8 AM over there, it’s 2 AM here…something like that) … so, if I am unreachable, then so-and-so should make the student’s healthcare decisions. I know it seems possibly weird to think about that (with the idea of “I don’t want anyone else making decisions for little Johnny besides me!”) – but I’m certain you wouldn’t want NO decisions to be made, so putting SOMEONE in charge IF you are unable to be reached, is a worthwhile consideration.
A second thing to consider is a financial and legal power of attorney, which allows someone to handle financial and legal matters if needed. Let’s pretend your kiddo is abroad and gets their wallet stolen. THAT HAPPENS. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a financial and legal power of attorney in place to allow YOU to step in and help … that would give you the authority to work with their banks, credit card companies, etc. Without a power of attorney, they very, very, very likely won’t speak to you. So, then it’s the kid trying to do it by themselves … abroad … and just the thought of that is overwhelming to me!
These documents, the healthcare proxy, medical power of attorney, and financial and legal power of attorney, can be especially helpful and so, so vital if any emergencies arise while the student is in a foreign country. Ultimately, this ensures that trusted individuals can act on the student's behalf if necessary.
Now, another situation where having some estate documents would really be handy for college students to have in place is if the college student just merely travels without you – say, they are going on Spring Break with their friends, for example, and they’re heading down to Florida. So, this example is a bit different than studying abroad because in this example, they are still in this country. Now, Ii would make the slight argument that while the documents are still beneficial for in-country spring break trips, they're generally less critical than for extended study abroad periods in another country.
There are a few reasons I say and think that: First, due to mere logistics – usually, a trip like Spring Break is shorter duration (less time for something to go wrong) and it is typically easier to communicate with family members since it’s often close to the same time zone (or even the same time zone). Furthermore, while documents like a healthcare proxy and medical power of attorney would still be incredibly useful, perhaps it is not as important to list someone as a “just in case I’m unreachable” and I say that because usually, like I said, it’s the same or close to the same time zone AND it would be easier for the family members to get to them, if needed. Like, it’s significantly easier and likely cheaper to fly to, say, Florida, than if the student was studying abroad in London or something.
Along the same lines, a financial and legal power of attorney may not be super high priority JUST BECAUSE the trip because it’s a shorter trip and easier for a family member to “step in” of an emergency arises. Rather than scrambling to get these types of documents in place just for the trip, perhaps the focus should be more on updating emergency contacts, making sure the student has their health insurance information, and ensuring someone knows ins and outs of the itinerary, so if an emergency arises, you don’t have to spend extra time trying to figure out the hotel information, local hospital information, etc. Devote your time on things that, IF any emergency arises, you are prepared and ready to easily and quickly step in. As you can probably feel and tell, the primary difference between estate documents for studying abroad and going on a trip like Spring Break is the reduced risk due to shorter duration and easier access to support within the same country. However, if it’d give you immense peace of mind to have them in place, do it to it, my friends, because simply having them will prove useful in unexpected situations.
Now I say all of that about reduced risk, but don’t let that be an excuse to not do estate documents for college students – and I say that because even when you take out the situations or studying abroad and going on Spring Break – merely being a college student and away from home/family comes with risks too. Often, it is usually the first time the student is “living away” from family – and sort of doing their own things for the first time without Mom, Dad, family, guardian, whoever not knowing their every move. Like, hellllllo, no curfews! I bring this up from merely a maturity standpoint – most of us at the age thought we had the world figured out, right? And looking back now, we know we didn’t. I mean, I could come up with a million real-life things could happen … I mentioned a few at the beginning of the episode … fall off their lofted bed, fall down the stairs … but we all could think of others.
Maybe it’s because my brain is constantly thinking of worst-case-scenario, but … walking to class and get hit by a car … had too much to drink on their 21st birthday … gets drugged at a bar … gets in a car accident … etc. I know these are really yucky and gross things to think about, but this real-life, people. These things could happen and this is why I’m bringing this up because so often, we don’t think about college students and estate documents. Rather, it’s assumed because you’re their parent or guardian or family member … you have authority to step in and help make decisions and you actually very, very, very likely do not if they are above the age of eighteen.. So consider this episode to purely be an awareness thing; not a scare tactic. I’m just trying to shine some light on the fact that tragic things can happen to ANY of us, including those in college.
You know, I think there’s also something to be said for not only have these documents in place in case something DOES happen, but it is also a really great lesson for college students in seeing that this kind of thing is a responsible step toward adulthood. At this point, they are in college and sure closer to adulthood and, what do they call it now, ADULTING … than ever. So, just like how many college students get set up to have a debit card or credit card (that maybe you secretly or not-so-secretly monitor and help fund) … I’ve heard people say that’s a way to start teaching them basic finances. You put in X, and you only have X to spend. Not Y. Doing estate documents, I would argue, is just another example of starting to show them “big girl” and big boy” type of things.
Now, as we start to close out this episode, it’s really important for me to say that these types of documents – very basic documents – are really, really affordable. I think people often associate estate documents as super expensive, but when you’re talking about doing extremely basic documents like a healthcare proxy/medical power of attorney and/or financial and legal power of attorney, I guarantee they’re probably cheaper than what you may spend at the grocery store in a week or month. A couple or few hundred bucks should get you these documents, even through an attorney. There are a lot of online platforms and “forms” that can be obtained on the internet – those may work, if you find a good and state-specific one, but going through an attorney gives you the peace of mind knowing it’s done legally, appropriately, and within your state-specific laws.
Anyone want to lead a collaboration between estate attorneys like me and colleges and universities offering to do these documents on campus? I would totally do that and plant my butt at a table (maybe like during orientation day or week or something) and crank them out – how cool would that be? Maybe some schools do this. Surely, I’m not the first that thought about this. Anyway, I digress! You get the point, I think. Estate planning for college students is important – it doesn’t have to be elaborate – and it doesn’t have to be costly either.
Okay, let’s wrap this episode up, shall we? Next week, we’re back to the “celebrity estate planning” type of episode – and during those types of episodes, we dive into a celebrity or “big name” person that has passed away and how their estate looked from an estate planning perspective. Next week’s episode is about the baseball great Yogi Berra. So, tune in to that next week, Legal Tea Listeners, talk to you then and stay well!
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