Graduating during the COVID-19 stay-at-home orders is a mixed emotional bag as seniors participate in drive-through, parade-style, and video conference graduation ceremonies. Maui graduates are spending time in small family gatherings instead of rocking community centers. If you had a high school senior in your home, you know things are about to change, but you’re not even sure if your child will be able to leave for college.
For parents thinking that graduation is a good opportunity for a serious discussion about the responsibility that accompanies adulthood, one legal document you can discuss is an Advanced Health-Care Directive.
An Advance Health-Care Directive is a legal document in Hawaii that does two things: it says who can make medical decisions for a person that cannot make or communicate their own decisions, and it gives some guidance about the choices they would want made on their behalf. Everyone over 18 years old should have an Advance Health-Care Directive.
Most parents are so used to being able to access their child’s physician or records, we don’t even think about how that changes now that they are 18!
You’ll want to be designated as your child’s heath care agent. This will give you the ability to make medical decisions on their behalf if they are unable to do so. It also can give you a sense of security in knowing that certain details have been handled.
While it might seem morbid to have such discussions when a new beginning is at hand, we are living in strange times, and we need to plan for all possibilities.
We can craft custom documents for you and for your college-bound student. If you would like to have a conversation with us about your estate and legacy planning, call our office today. Use this opportunity to learn for yourself so that you can be a good role model for your future college student. We’ll even throw in your graduate’s advance health-care directive for free.
