Documents College Students Should Have

Your child is getting ready to leave for college. Among making sure they have their course books and everything essential to furnish their dorm room, there are many legal documents that you must have in place. A lot of of these documents are going to be useful to have if a medical or other emergency happen and you are required to make decisions on your students’ behalf.

1. Table of Contents

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   Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) Waiver

Since your child is now an adult legally, you don’t have automatic accessibility to information about them concerning their education. This includes access to information concerning their grades, academic records, or disciplinary penance. Even when you’re paying for your child’s schooling, the FERPA Waiver is required to have for accessing any of their college records. Ask your child’s college and see if they have the paperwork. Otherwise, you can easily locate a copy of the waiver online.

2. Medical Documents and Authorizations

Medical documents and authorizations are easily overlooked concerning your child. They might still be your baby, but after they reach the age of eighteen, they’re thought of as an adult. If your child has a medical emergency, having the required documents on hand is going to make sure you can concentrate on their care and recovery.

3. HIPAA Authorization Form

This is probably the most vital medical forms to have for your college student. The HIPAA authorization form allows doctors and medical facilities to keep you informed concerning your child’s medical status and health should an emergency happen.

4. Medical Power of Attorney

A MPA allows your college student to appoint an individual – usually a parent(s) or legal guardian(s) – to make medical decisions in their behalf if they become incapacitated. It is wise that your child appoints a primary and secondary agent in case their primary isn’t available.

5. Durable Power of Attorney

A DPA allows your college student to appoint an individual – usually a parent(s) or legal guardian(s) -to manage their financial matters if they become incapacitated. Your child can also use this document to appoint an individual to manage their tax returns and other financial matters while they are away at college.

6. Living Will

A living will allows your child to delegate end of life care should they wind up in a coma, unable to make medical decisions on their own. It’s also important for them to communicate their wishes to members of their family so that everyone knows what to do.

7. Health Insurance

A lot of college students are on their parents’ health insurance, but it’s important to confirm prior to them leaving for college, particularly when they’re attending school in a different state or in another country.

8. Medical and Dental Appointments

It’s wise to make sure your college student has any dental and medical appointments taken care of at least a month prior to them leaving for college. Obtain copies of their prescriptions so they are able to fill them when they’re away, and make sure they have copies of their medical records, particularly if they have a chronic health condition.

Extra Advice: Coverage For Your Child’s Possessions

Nobody wants to think about dorms getting vandalized or property getting stolen, sadly it does happen. You are going to want to go over your homeowner’s insurance policy to determine if your child’s possessions are covered while they are away at college. It’s particularly important to be sure that their laptop or PC is covered so they are still able to do their schoolwork. When your college student is living off-campus, they might be required to get renter’s insurance.

It’s a readjustment to imagine your college student as being a legal adult. As your student goes away to college, having these vital legal and medical documents available provides you with peace of mind and enables you to concentrate on the school year ahead.

Source:

1. 8 legal documents parents and college students should sign. Masso Torrence Wealth Management. (n.d.). Retrieved February 24, 2022, from https://massotorrence.com/resources/8-legal-documents-parents-and-college-students-should-sign

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