The law makes 18 the age of majority, so parents of adult children, even though they may still be in college or partly dependent upon us, have no legal standing to carry out or assist them with their legal or business affairs. Nor do the parents have clear legal authority regarding matters of health care, or access to medical records needed to assist them.
If you have a child or children over 18 years of age but perhaps not yet fully settled and established in adult life, it could be critical for you to have a power of attorney from the child if he or she wants and needs your help to carry out financial transactions, say, like registering a car, or gaining access to bank accounts or investments. Even more crucial, you will need a power of attorney for health care purposes (separate from the financial document if your child has a health need or emergency. Without a proper legal authorization you might not even be able to get any information due to HIPPA and other confidentiality rules.
These concerns are especially great if the child is far from home attending school or working.
We can help with the speedy preparation of the necessary documents. You may have a young adult home for the holidays who needs this work done, and if so, please contact Darcie P.L. Beaudin, Jill Checkoway or Bryan Dench or the attorney here at Skelton Taintor & Abbott you would regularly call.