Summertime offers a wealth of opportunities for a nice vacation, and if you are like most families, it will be spent with your children or older family members. Finding a perfect time to discuss estate planning with your family is challenging, but an easy-going weekend can be just the right opportunity.
It is a great time to review your own estate plan, ensure beneficiary designations are correct, and secure your important documents.
Sending your Child Off to College?
As you prepare to send your child off to college, either for their first year as a freshman or to complete their education, the checklist of forms is endless. Dorm rooms, textbooks, placement tests, financial aid, the list goes on and on.
It is important to make time for four important documents that will allow you to support your young adult – even when they’re miles away. Once your child turns 18, they are legally an adult, and you can no longer make decisions on their behalf as a natural guardian.
Here are the four documents we recommend every parent have in place before their child goes off to college:
Designation of Healthcare Surrogate
A Designation of Healthcare Surrogate allows you to make medical decisions for your child if they become incapacitated.
Durable Power of Attorney
A Power of Attorney allows you to manage your child’s financial matters. From handling bank accounts to applying for financial aid and signing tax returns, this document is crucial for assisting your child with financial responsibilities during their college years.
HIPPA Authorization Form
The HIPAA Authorization Form grants you access to your child’s medical records. Without it, healthcare providers are barred from sharing any medical information with you due to privacy laws. This can be a significant barrier during moments of crisis when you are trying to evaluate your child’s health and speak with their college’s student health department.
FERPA Authorization Form
Under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), your child’s educational records are private once they enter college. By completing a FERPA Authorization Form, your child can grant you access to their academic records and other educational information, ensuring you can stay informed about their progress.
Aging Parents
It is never easy to start such a serious conversation, but know that it’s likely on their mind as well.
Below are strategies that will, at the very least, provide a start to the discussion:
Ice Breakers
The suggestion that you’re looking to set up your own estate plan is one of the best ways to broach the financial subject with your parents. Learning about your efforts can help them surpass the mental barrier that may have kept them from executing their own plan. Stories of celebrities or others who have failed to plan appropriately–and had their families pay the price–can prompt them to consider the matter.
Easy Does It
You catch more flies with honey than vinegar. Gentle encouragement is far more effective than pressure; pressure generates a variety of negative feelings that will hamper any progress. Your parents undoubtedly value their financial independence. Provide them with the information they need to get things done on their own, but don’t push it on them.
Respect Boundaries
Finances are one of the hardest conversations to have with your parents–relinquishing power or even just information in the area can seem to them a decline in their status and a reminder of their years. In the event that your parents prove unwilling to pursue the topic to any extent, let them know that one essential thing for you to know is where you can find the important documents when it becomes necessary.
Considerations for Post-Divorce or Death
If you’ve just gone through a divorce or the death of a close family member, estate planning may be the last thing on your mind. You may have spent significant time handling your divorce case or just made it through the fog of laying a loved one to rest and may not want to jump into another legal matter.
However, divorce and death are two of the most significant life changes.
The outcome of your divorce will affect the configuration of your family, taxes, and assets. You want to ensure your beneficiary designations have been updated, certain documents revoked if necessary, and new documents have been drafted to reflect this significant life change.
So, take advantage of the relaxed summer atmosphere to prioritize estate planning discussions and document organization, ensuring your family’s future security and peace of mind.
Virginia Ralls is a Pensacola native and an avid supporter of military members and their families. Virginia graduated from the University of Florida and then came home to pursue her Master’s Degree from the University of West Florida (Go Argos!). While working full time and obtaining her Masters full time, she met and fell in love with her husband, another Pensacolian, James Ralls, who was active duty Coast Guard. They married and moved to Philadelphia with his new orders. A dream became reality when Virginia was accepted into the Drexel University School of Law in Philadelphia, PA. Eventually, they found their way back to Pensacola, where their son Vincent was born. Virginia now practices law with her father at Chase & Ralls, PLC, where she is the Director of Trusts and Estates.
She uses her experience in law to help mothers and families navigate estate planning and probate. She believes Pensacola was a dream location to grow up, and she is now excited to grow her own family in this Western Gate to the Sunshine State.