Two Documents That Every College Student Should Have (Episode #283)

0:30 Well, good afternoon, Michiganders. It is already Tuesday, July twenty five, twenty twenty three, and of course this is Tuesday with Tom, Michigan's only weekly podcast where we do answer your questions about a state planning and a state settlement in Michigan. As always, I'm your host, Tom Doyle, estate planning attorney, lifelong Michigan resident, and ambassador for all things good in this great state of Michigan. Welcome, welcome, welcome to today's program. As I said already July twenty five, I've taken a little early summer break from the program, but we're back as July is winding down, we're quickly approaching August. The last episode, though, if you go back in June, I talked about the six reasons to have a trust and not a will.

1:25 So if you're putting your estate plan together, trying to figure out whether or not you should have a trust or just have a will, I invite you to listen to the last episode. Well, coming up quickly for many of you, you're going to be sending your children or perhaps grandchildren are going to be going off to college. So today we're going to talk about two documents that every college student should have. But please remember that what I'm about to discuss during the program is, as always for educational purposes own It is not intended to be legal advice. You need to work with your attorney to determine what is appropriate for you and your state plan. But we're going to go right to it. This is actually a recording of a previous episode where I talked about the very same topic, and so I am going to insert, if you will, into the program today that previous recording when I talked about two documents that every college student should have. But let's just get right into today's topic. Don't send your child off to college without these two essential documents. Your child goes off to college, perhaps you bought them the new

2:55 computer. Maybe some of you have bought the car. When they graduated high school, They've got their clothes pack, they head off to school. One of the things that you're probably going to make sure is that they have current health insurance card just in case. Obviously you hope that there is nothing that that card is needed for, but you're being the responsible parent and you're making sure that they have that card because accidents do happen. Well what if? What if that accident does happen, what's likely going to happen. You're going to receive a phone call telling you that you're college student, maybe they've been in a serious accident, and maybe they're in a hospital, and what are you going to do. I assume you're going to be in contact with a hospital, or if you can, as soon as possible, you'll get to the hospital so that you can take care of your injured child. Now, what if, though, what if when you arrive at the hospital, you're told that the hospital, because of hippop cannot provide you with any information about your child's medical condition. Or maybe important decisions are needed to make about your child's care. Maybe it's been a very serious accident. Important decisions need to be made about your child's medical care, but the hospital staff is looking at you and saying you can't make them. Why we're parents, there are children.

4:27 Of course we can make decisions for our children. Well, what we sometimes forget is that parents do not have any legal authority to make medical decisions for child once they turn eighteen. Once they're eighteen, they are adults. We no longer have automatically under the law of the legal authority to make medical decisions for them. So who does who has a legal authority to make medical decisions for your adult child? Well, one a guardian. That would be a person who gets appointed by the probate court. It's going to require having to go to probate court, obviously, it's going to take time. Certainly someone's going to be hiring a lawyer like Commander myself to do that for them.

5:15 That means it's going to likely be expensive and in the end it might not be the person that you would want. But once a guardian is appointed, then that guardian would have the legal authority to tell the hospital what to do relative to your child's medical care. What's the alternative, Well, the alternative is a patient advocate who's been named in a power of attorney for health care. It's a legal document. It takes effect immediately when the child cannot communicate with his or her doctor about their medical care. And essentially that patient advocate is now going to stand in the shoes of your child to make the decisions that your child could make. So in order for you to avoid having to go their route of having a guardian appointed, what you should be doing is when your child goes off to college, make sure that one of the essential documents that they have in place is that healthcare power of attorney naming you or somebody else as the patient advocate, so that they will have the legal authority to respond if that emergency should arise. But while you're at it, you should also have or your child should also have a durable power of attorney

6:46 for finances. Why again, parents don't have any legal authority to manage what a child owns once they turn eighteen just because their parents. Again, your child is an adult at age eighteen, and you have no rights to manage what they own. Well, who does, similarly to who it is that makes medical decisions, one what we call a conservator. A conservator again is somebody that's going to be appointed by the probate court. You have to go to probate. You're likely going to hire a lawyer, it's going to take time, you're going to spend money, and in the end it might not be the person that you would have wanted or that your child would have wanted.

7:32 But once a conservator is appointed, then that conservator is the one who takes charge of your child's assets and can manage those assets for them. Alternatively, your child, if they had a legal document that's called a durable power of attorney. In that durable power of attorney, they would appoint an agent or an attorney in fact. And it is that agent or attorney in fact that then would have the legal authority without going to probate court, would have the immediate legal authority to manage what a child own. So obviously, if it's a serious accident, they might still have bills that need to be paid.

8:22 They still might have perhaps investments that need to be manage, or car that needs to be handled or whatever happens to be or or being in contact with a school about what's going on with them at the school. All of those things are actions that still need to be taken on behalf of your child. So again, the second document that your client, I'm sorry that your child, not your client, that your child should have when they go to college is going to be a power of attorney. So my suggestion don't send your child off to college without a power of attorney for healthcare, without a power of attorney for finances. And it should go without saying, but if a man and I can be of assistance to you, in putting together those documents for your child, even if they're already away at college. I would suggest that you visit our website that's at Doyle LAWPC dot com. There you're going to see information on how to either schedule an appointment with us or your child with us to get those documents prepared. In fact, we have our legal store that's available at the website where those documents can in fact be ordered online from our office. Of course, A man and I would be happy

10:11 to talk to you about how you can have the power's appropriate healthcare power and durable power attorney prepared for your college student, or if you need to have an estate plan put together, we'd be honored to have the opportunity to help you protect your loved ones by putting your plan together, perhaps amending a current plan that you already have, or assisting you in settling in a state. We currently have both in person consultations at our new East Lansing office as well as virtual consultation via zoom or telephone. Simply head on over to Doyle LAWPC dot com where you will find more information about how to schedule your consultation today.

10:56 A reminder too, that we have of our Legal Store, and that's the again Doyle aw PC. You're going to find a link to the Legal Store at our website and in that legal store you can order individual documents. Maybe all you're looking for is how do I get this Power of Attorney for healthcare prepared for my college student? Head on over to the Legal Store and you will find information there on how you can order that document online, as well as several other documents that are also available. And that is going to be it for today's show. As always, though, if you have a comment about the program, a topic that you'd like to have me discuss, or questions that you would like to have answered, please send me an email Tom at Tuesday with Tom dot com. Also follow us on Facebook, invite your friends and family to follow us on Facebook as well. That would be Tuesday with Com and of course the office would be Doyle law PC. Remember too, Tuesday with Tom is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google podcast, iHeartRadio, Spreaker everywhere that you likely listen to your podcasts regularly, you

12:26 will find Tuesday with Tom and you can always again ask your smart speaker to play Tuesday with Tom. Thanks again for spending some of your time with us today, and as always, I hope that you have an awesome day and an awesome week in Michigan. Stay safe. Tuesday with Tom has been brought to you by the estate planning attorneys at Doyle Law. To learn how we can help you with your estate plan or with settling a loved one's estate, please call us today at five one seven three two three seven three six six.

13:11 That's five one seven, three two three seven three six six