If you are 18 years old, or perhaps a parent of said young adult, it is essential to begin preparing the legal documents needed in case of an emergency.
In fact, starting an estate plan to protect your kiddos is as simple as obtaining these four documents:
🔹Financial Power of Attorney
🔹Healthcare Power of Attorney
🔹A Living Will
🔹HIPAA Authorization
Entering the legal age of maturity means you might not have access to your child’s finances or healthcare information in times of need. Having these documents on your side allows you, as a parent, to be in contact with everyone you need to in case our child is unable to speak on their own behalf.
Once your kiddo has reached adulthood, tasks as simple as an address change at the post office could become increasingly difficult if you don’t have Financial Power of Attorney – even talking to an insurance company may require a HIPAA auth!
If you don’t have access to these documents and something tragic was to occur to your child this could result in entering a living probate. In the state of AZ, this means entering a legal guardianship or conservatorship which could be lengthy if you are in a time-sensitive situation.
If something tragic were to occur to your child, whether they are off to college or spreading their wings elsewhere, I PROMISE you do not want to spend the time going to probate court to handle the affairs of your child!
In our office, we plan for the worst and hope for the best! I strongly advise you to see your state planning attorney to give you and your children peace of mind if something were to go astray.
If you are in need of advice or how to start planning for your kiddo, please reach out! In the age of social media, communicating has never been so easy, my team and I would be more than happy to help you empower the lives of your legacy, your kids!