Sending a Child to College? Three Legal Documents Every Florida Family Should Discuss

Once a student turns 18, parents may no longer have automatic authority to receive medical information or handle financial matters. Learn about three documents Florida families should discuss before college.

Moving a child into a college dorm is a milestone filled with checklists. Families remember tuition, housing, meal plans, insurance cards, laptops, and countless dorm-room essentials. One important item, however, is often overlooked: a basic legal plan for the new adult.

At age 18, a child generally becomes a legal adult. That transition is important and appropriate, but it also changes a parent’s legal authority. A parent who has handled appointments, accounts, forms, and emergencies for years may no longer have automatic access to information or the authority to act for the student.

This does not mean that parents are entirely excluded whenever an emergency occurs. Medical providers may sometimes share limited information based on applicable law and professional judgment. It does mean, however, that relying on an exception during a stressful situation can lead to uncertainty and delay.

Before a student leaves for college, Florida families should consider discussing the following three documents.

1. Designation of Health Care Surrogate

A designation of health care surrogate allows an adult student to name someone to make health care decisions if the student cannot make or communicate those decisions personally. The student may name a parent, another trusted adult, and an alternate surrogate.

Florida’s statutory form also allows the student to authorize the surrogate to receive health information. Depending on how the document is completed, authority to receive information may begin immediately, while decision-making authority may begin if the student later becomes unable to make health care decisions. Florida law also permits a principal to grant immediate decision-making authority, although the capable student’s own decisions remain controlling.

This document can be important if a student experiences a serious accident, illness, or other period of incapacity away from home. Rather than leaving family members and providers to determine who should act, the student has selected a trusted decision-maker in advance.

Under Florida law, a health care surrogate designation must be signed in the presence of two adult witnesses. The selected surrogate cannot serve as a witness, and at least one witness must be neither the student’s spouse nor a blood relative. An exact copy should be provided to the surrogate.

2. HIPAA Authorization

A HIPAA authorization addresses access to protected health information. It can allow designated people—often parents or another trusted adult—to receive information from health care providers within the scope established by the student.

Access to information and authority to make decisions are not the same thing. A HIPAA authorization generally permits disclosure of information; it does not, by itself, authorize the recipient to make medical decisions. A health care surrogate designation addresses decision-making authority. The documents may overlap or be coordinated, but families should understand the function of each.

A properly prepared authorization may help a parent communicate with an emergency room, physician, specialist, or other covered provider when the student wants that involvement. The document can also specify what information may be disclosed, to whom, for what purpose, and for how long.

HIPAA is not the only privacy law that may apply in a college setting. Medical records maintained by a college or university health clinic may sometimes be governed by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, commonly known as FERPA, rather than HIPAA. The student may therefore need to complete separate forms supplied by the school.

3. Durable Power of Attorney

A durable power of attorney allows an adult student to authorize a trusted agent to handle specified financial and legal matters. Depending on the authority granted, an agent might be able to assist with:

- Banking and bill payment;

- Insurance matters and claims;

- Housing or lease issues;

- Tax documents;

- Vehicle-related matters;

- Tuition or other financial arrangements; and

- Legal or administrative paperwork.

This document may be useful if the student is hospitalized, studying abroad, temporarily unavailable, or otherwise unable to manage an urgent matter. The student remains in control and can continue handling personal affairs while capable; the agent receives only the authority described in the document.

Choosing an agent deserves careful thought. Florida powers of attorney are generally exercisable when executed rather than only after a later incapacity. The document should therefore be appropriately tailored, and the student should appoint only someone who is trustworthy and understands the responsibility.

Florida also requires specific signing formalities. A power of attorney must generally be signed by the principal, witnessed by two subscribing witnesses, and acknowledged before a notary public.

What About College Records?

Families may also want to discuss a FERPA authorization or the school’s information-release form. When a student reaches age 18 or attends a postsecondary institution, rights concerning education records generally transfer from the parent to the student. A college may have its own online process through which the student can authorize access to grades, billing, disciplinary records, or other information.

A FERPA authorization is not a substitute for a health care surrogate designation, HIPAA authorization, or durable power of attorney. It addresses a different category of information. Families should review the particular institution’s policies and forms.

A Practical College Legal Checklist

Ideally, the discussion should occur before move-in day—when the family has time to consider the choices without the pressure of an emergency. After the documents are signed:

1. Give copies to the people who have been appointed.

2. Keep secure electronic copies that can be reached when needed.

3. Ask the student to save the agents’ current contact information in an accessible place.

4. Review the college’s medical-information and FERPA forms.

5. Confirm whether an out-of-state school or provider recommends any additional documentation.

6. Revisit the plan if the student transfers, studies abroad, marries, or wants to appoint someone different.

The goal is not to take independence away from a young adult. These documents allow the student to decide who may help, what assistance may be provided, and when that authority applies. In that sense, a basic legal plan is another step toward responsible independence.

Plan Before the Emergency

College students may feel that estate planning is something they will not need for decades. Yet advance directives and powers of attorney are not only about death or substantial wealth. They are practical tools for medical, financial, and legal emergencies at every stage of adulthood.

If your family has a child who recently turned 18 or is preparing to leave for college, our office can help explain these documents and prepare a plan appropriate for the student’s circumstances.