In the rush to get your child off to college, putting a young adult power of attorney form in place may have been one of the ‘to do’ items that slipped off the list.
Many families reach out to Mama Bear Legal Forms asking if it’s too late to purchase a young adult POA package once their child has gone off to college.
The answer is NO! You can absolutely still purchase one and get it completed while your child is away at school. In fact, now is one of the best times to get it done.
Here are three reasons why.
Parents don’t need to be present when POAs are signed and executed.
Many parents think they will need to sign their child’s POA forms and then worry about how they are going to do that when their child is away at school.
If you’re worried about this, don’t be. It’s actually your adult child who must sign the documents. Since you don’t need to be present, this is actually a process that can happy anywhere, anytime.
College campuses have notaries.
After you get your forms filled out and printed off, you’re not done. They must be notarized. This step often stymies people from finishing the task.
Thankfully, college campuses are filled with notaries. So, it’s actually best for your child to complete their power of attorney forms on campus where they can then easily get them notarized.
The best time to get a Young Adult POA is when your child turns 18.
This often happens during a student’s freshman year at college. So, if getting a Young Adult POA didn’t happen before your child left and they were still 17, it’s actually a good thing that you haven’t gotten around to it yet.
The absolute best time to put a YA power of attorney form in place is once a young adult turns 18 or reaches the age of majority in their home state (in Alabama and Nebraska the age is 19).
Now is the perfect time to talk about YA POAs.
It’s hard to believe, but in a little over a month, young adults across America will be coming home for Thanksgiving.
After the rush of getting a child off to college for the first time, Thanksgiving is a time for many families to reconnect and hear all about how the first semester is going.
While you’re discussing school, take some time to talk about the process of setting up a young adult power of attorney form and help your child understand why having one is a good idea.
To help you with that conversation, we’re covering what a young adult power of attorney is, why you need one and address one of the most common questions people ask – what state should I select as my home state?
What is a young adult power of attorney and why does my college student need one?
Many students (and parents) ask this question, and it’s a good one. A young adult power of attorney form is an essential legal document that all young people need when they reach 18 years of age.
Most parents assume that they have automatic authority to handle decisions for their adult children, should they encounter an unexpected illness or accident that leaves them incapacitated.
However, once a child turns 18, parents no longer have the authority to make medical or financial decisions for their children.
A power of attorney form and healthcare power of attorney form authorizes parents to help their adult children manage financial, legal and healthcare decisions as needed.
Mama Bear Legal Forms offers both at an affordable cost.
Without these critical forms in place, if your child suffers an accident or gets into debt while away at school, you will not be able to converse with banks, doctors or insurance companies on their behalf.
This is one powerful reason to put a power of attorney form in place for your child. Another reason is maturity. There may come a time when your child finds himself or herself in a situation that they are ill-equipped to handle.
It is easy to fall into credit card debt in college and common for college students to need help from parents to make the right financial moves to put themselves back on solid ground.
Without a power of attorney in place, parents are hamstrung as to how to help their children and hindered in their efforts to advocate for their best interests.
Every adult child should have a durable power of attorney for health care and the same for financial matters because these forms designate who is authorized to handle medical and financial decisions in an emergency or when a child gets in over their head.
Without these forms, a state may appoint a guardian or conservator for your young adult. Not only is it possible for it not be the parent, but the process can be complex and expensive. Power of attorney forms eliminate this concern.
Where do I get power of attorney forms?
Mama Bear Legal Forms offers affordable power of attorney (POA) templates and healthcare POA forms you can customize for your children and state(s) of residence. Our Young Adult Power of Attorney Package includes all three documents your college child needs for only $79 – a significantly lower price than the average attorney fee for preparing such documents.
What if my child attends college out of state?
Once they see the need for a power of attorney form, many parents ask us if they need multiple power of attorney forms when their children attend college out of state. It’s common to think you may need one form for your home state and another for the state where your child attends school.
While you can create multiple forms through Mama Bear Legal Forms at no additional cost, one power of attorney form is all that’s needed.
A properly executed power of attorney form for one state will nearly always be recognized should it become necessary in another state. The key is to designate the correct home state when you complete a power of attorney form.
What do I list as my child’s home state on a POA form?
The easiest answer to this question is to look at your child’s driver’s license. The state that is listed should be your child’s home state when you are completing your young adult power of attorney paperwork.
Your child’s home state is the place where he or she lives permanently and does things such as pay taxes, vote, receive mail, and obtain a driver’s license.
If your child attends school in another state, his or her home state is still likely the state in which he or she was living before going away for college.
In short, the home state is most likely where your child is coming home to for the holidays.
Where do I keep my power of attorney forms?
After creating and having your child sign the POA forms, keep the originals in a safe place with other important documents. If your child is home for the holidays, take a moment to show him or her where these documents are stored.
You should also scan and save them so they are readily available to email to a healthcare provider or financial institution in an emergency.
It’s also a good idea to send your child back to school with a copy of their own.
Get Your POA Package Now
Are you ready to get your Young Adult POA Package? Mama Bear Legal Forms provides law firm quality, state-specific documents that are easy to create, simple to download and incredibly affordable.
After you’re done passing the mashed potatoes and slicing the pumpkin pie this holiday season, take a few minutes out of your day to put in place a critical form that will give you, and your college student, peace of mind with a valid and executed power of attorney form.
Our Young Adult Package includes a power of attorney form that is legally valid in all states and includes guidance on how to complete your form.
It only takes ten minutes to create a young adult power of attorney form for your child. Get started now.
