Powers of Attorney for Your Young Adult: What Parents Need to Know in 2025

With high school graduations approaching and graduates’ plans taking shape, many
parents feel they’re losing control of their child’s life. In legal terms, this is actually true!
Once your child turns 18, they are legally considered an adult with the right to govern
their own life.

Before your child reaches 18, you have full access to their medical records and can
make decisions regarding their treatment. Similarly, their financial affairs are essentially
your financial affairs. However, everything changes when they reach adulthood. Your
now-adult child is legally entitled to privacy, and you no longer have the same level of
access to or authority over their financial, educational, and medical information.

While this transition is natural, it’s essential to plan for unexpected situations, especially
as your child heads off to their next adventure. Here are the critical legal documents
every parent should discuss with their new adult:

1. Durable Health Care Power of Attorney and HIPAA Release
What is HIPAA?
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) is a federal law that protects the privacy of individuals’ health information. Unlike FERPA (which covers educational records), HIPAA specifically governs medical and health-related information.

Under HIPAA, once your child turns 18, their health records become private between them and their healthcare
providers. These privacy laws prevent you from receiving medical updates if your child
cannot communicate their wishes to involve you. Without a HIPAA release, you may
face significant obstacles before receiving critical information, including whether your
adult child has even been admitted to a hospital.

If your child experiences a medical emergency leaving them unable to communicate,
healthcare professionals may legally refuse to share information with you or allow you to
make medical decisions on their behalf. Without proper documentation, you might need
to petition a court to be appointed as your child’s legal guardian—adding legal
complications during an already stressful time.

A Durable Health Care Power of Attorney and HIPAA Release enables your child to designate you or
another trusted person to make medical decisions if they become unable to express
their wishes. Many institutions now offer digital options for storing these documents,
making them more readily accessible in emergencies.

Key Points for High School Graduates:

• HIPAA privacy rights begin at age 18, regardless of dependency status
• Parents lose automatic access to their adult child’s medical records
• This includes campus health centers, counseling services, and any healthcare providers
• Even if parents pay for health insurance, they cannot access records without authorization
• Emergency situations have limited exceptions, but routine care requires patient consent

Why Students Need HIPAA Release Forms:

• Allows parents to communicate with healthcare providers
• Enables parents to access medical records and billing information
• Permits discussion of treatment plans and medical decisions
• Essential for emergency situations when the student cannot communicate

2. Durable Financial Power of Attorney
Like medical information, your 18-year-old’s finances are also legally private. If your
child becomes incapacitated without a Durable Financial Power of Attorney in place,
you cannot access their bank accounts or manage their financial affairs. This could lead
to missed bill payments, scholarship deadlines, or other financial complications.

Even absent a crisis, a financial power of attorney can be helpful for situations that arise
when your child is away at college or traveling. For example, if your son is studying
abroad and cannot access his accounts, a Durable Financial Power of Attorney would
authorize you or another designated person to handle the issue.

Some parents consider joint bank accounts as an alternative, but this approach often
creates unintended consequences regarding taxes, financial aid eligibility, and potential
creditor issues. Most financial advisors now recommend a power of attorney as a
cleaner solution that maintains appropriate boundaries.

Digital Assets Access
Finally, in today’s digital world, modern powers of attorney should contain digital asset
provisions that can include language granting access to email accounts, social media,
cryptocurrency, and other digital assets—which can be crucial in certain situations.

3. FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act) Waiver
Under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), students who are 18 years of age or older, or who attend a postsecondary institution, are considered “eligible students” and have the right to control access to their educational records. This means that parents/guardians no longer have automatic access to these records unless the student provides written consent.

Students should submit this form to both their high school and their college/university. Some institutions may have their own specific FERPA forms, so it’s worth checking with each school’s registrar or student services office about their preferred format.

This waiver ensures that parents can continue to be involved in their student’s educational journey while respecting the student’s legal rights under FERPA.

Getting Started
If you have a child who has turned 18, contact Zacharia Brown & Bratkovich at
724.942.6200 to schedule an appointment for your young adult to execute these crucial
documents.

And remember, these conversations aren’t about maintaining control – they’re about
ensuring your child’s wishes can be honored and their needs met in case of emergency.