Your little girl just turned 18
Imagine this: She goes off to college, you get a call from her roommate notifying you that she was admitted to the local hospital with a severe case of appendicitis. You call the hospital, and to your 
surprise, no one can talk to you about her condition. Hello, HIPAA’s privacy rule*. To make things worse, your child is still on your insurance plan, maybe until the age of 26. It will not make a difference; the hospital is not allowed to divulge anything.
It gets worse. If the hospital is refusing to talk to you, guess what, you will not be able to intercede in your child’s medical treatment. What if it’s not appendicitis, but a critical life-condition. Oh, and when you circle back with the college and inquire as to why they did not call you and apprise you of your daughter’s admission to the hospital they answer by saying they are not supposed to: there’s that privacy thing kicking in again. For Pete’s sake, she is a student aren’t you supposed to be looking out for her!
Financially and legally the situation is not much different. Way back when I attended the University of Maryland, my dad received a letter from the Dean: And, no it did not regard my 
scholarly achievements, but rather it notified my parents that your’s truly was discovering the various alternative lifestyles of college but not paying attention to his studies. The conversation with my dad was unique. I started making the dean’s list regularly, the alternative was….
Most colleges no longer notify parents of a student’s grades. Neither do they inform parents if the child has outstanding bills in the student’s name. I am not saying your little girl cannot take care of herself: I am saying all us may need help from time to time. Even our little girls. So what should you as a parent do?
You’ll need an attorney to help you and your sibling with the following:
- Medical Power of Attorney, Advance Directive/Living Will, and HIPAA Authorization.
- Financial Power of Attorney
- Education Record Release
Protect yourself and your children. Provide yourself with the ability to help. Just because they turn eighteen, it does not mean they know or can do anything. Of course, it was different when we were that age we never needed anyone’s help. Mommy…..
Currently, our portfolios overweighted domestic and foreign equities.
Carlos Dominguez – Portfolio Manager, RJFS
*Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996. The Standards for Privacy of Individually Identifiable Health Information https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-professionals/privacy/laws-regulations/index.html Links are being provided for information purposes only. Raymond James is not affiliated with and does not endorse, authorize or sponsor any of the listed websites or their respective sponsors. Raymond James is not responsible for the content of any website or the collection or use of information regarding any website’s users and/or members.
The preceding information has been obtained from sources considered to be reliable, but we do not guarantee that it is accurate or complete, it is not a statement of all available data necessary for making an investment decision, and it does not constitute a recommendation. Any opinions are those of Carlos Dominguez and not necessarily those of Raymond James. All opinions are as of this date and are subject to change without notice. Raymond James does not offer legal advice and services. You should discuss any legal matters with the appropriate professional