Estate Planning for College Students
College students may not fully realize it, but once they turned 18, they became an adult in the eyes of the law. While this can have wide-ranging ramifications, one is that parents will no longer be able to act on behalf of their child when it comes to healthcare or financial decisions. This makes it necessary for the new adult and college student to consider their estate planning options.
College Students Need to Appoint a Health Care Surrogate
One of the ways college students can help prepare for emergencies as a new adult is to appoint a health care surrogate. The health care surrogate is a trusted family member or friend who you trust to make health care decisions on your behalf if you are unable to do so. Often, college students will appoint one of their parents as their health care surrogate.
Irrespective of who is chosen, the college student will need to speak with their surrogate to discuss their wishes and to confirm the surrogate is willing to serve in that capacity.
College Students Need to Appoint a Durable Power of Attorney
The second important piece of an estate plan of a college student is a durable power of attorney. The durable power of attorney allows the college student to appoint someone – again, this is often a parent, but not always – to handle his or her financial affairs. This includes paying bills, making deposits or withdrawals from their bank accounts, opening or closing bank accounts, and even signing/renewing a lease.
This can be helpful in the event the college student becomes incapacitated, as it allows the trusted individual to step in and act on behalf of the college student.
It is important to note, though, that Florida no longer has springing powers of attorney. This means that as soon as the power of attorney document is executed, it becomes effective. This makes it important for the college student and the agent under the power of attorney to speak and understand what the student wishes the agent to take action on now and what they wish the agent to handle only in the event of incapacity.
Florida Estate Planning for College Students
While estate plans for college students may seem to be simple, you always want to be sure the documents are properly drafted and given proper consideration so that they work when needed. If you are in Florida and are interested in discussing estate planning, contact us today. If you are ready to get started on your Florida estate plan, you can do so here.