Some families consider legal counsel once their kids turn 18 years old
TAMPA, Fla. - When Bill Snowdon's kids turned 18 and headed to college, there was something they had to think about as a family.
"They're legally adults, but every time they went to the hospital or the doctor before that, a parent was with them," said Snowdon. "Somebody was with them that could help them understand what was going on and make decisions in that process."
Snowdon, his wife and their kids decided together that it would be a good idea to see a lawyer about drawing up legal documents, so they could help their kids in case of an emergency.
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"Well, the question is, why do they need to think about any kind of legal documents? The reason being that at one second after midnight on a person's 18th birthday, their parents can do nothing for them any more legally other than continue to pay their bills," said attorney Debbie Baker. "So, a power of attorney for a parent of an 18-year-old would allow them to access their bank account or set up a bank account or do all sorts of things for them. They can't do without the child giving them the right. If there's a medical emergency and a parent doesn't have a health care surrogate, then those doctors are not allowed by law to speak to anybody without the child's consent. So the health care surrogate gives the parent the right."
"I think for the kids, they have the ability to go, 'Hey, I'm talking to my doctor,' or ‘you can talk to my doctor about this stuff.’ And we also have that opportunity that if there's something going on with one of the kids that they're not understanding, we can call the doctor and talk to them or call them wherever it may be and get better information from that", said Snowdon.
Baker said she understands that this may not be top of mind for a lot of parents or their young adults.
"Oh, nobody thinks about it, and I don't blame them. Why would you think about it? Why would you think that if today your child is 17, okay, and you call the doctor today to make an appointment for them to see them next week, and you can't get the doctor, and you call them again tomorrow, but tomorrow is their 18th birthday, the doctor if they're paying attention they'll say I'm sorry we can't talk to you," said Baker.
The Snowdons' have the comfort in knowing they can be there for their kids if needed and for their kids, it's one of their first big decisions as legal adults.
"And, I do think the biggest, the most important thing for parents that are thinking about this is to make sure it's the child's decision and let the child control, because they’re an adult. So, we can do is be mentors at this point and help them, but it does give peace of mind for mom and dad," said Snowdon.