09/02/2026
The day your child turns 18, you become a legal stranger to them.
It catches parents completely off guard. You raised them, you may still be paying their tuition - and yet the hospital can decline to tell you anything, and the bank can decline to talk to you at all. Legally, they're an adult now, and you have no automatic right to their medical or financial information.
It matters most in the moment you'd least want to be arguing about paperwork: a car accident on the way back to campus, a health scare during finals week.
Three documents fix it, and they take very little time:
- A HIPAA authorization, so doctors can speak with you
- A healthcare power of attorney, so someone can make medical decisions if your child can't
- A financial power of attorney, so bills and accounts don't freeze up
If you just sent a kid off to college, put this on the list before the semester gets away from you.