Your Kid Just Turned 18 and Is Headed to College. Do They Need a Health Care Directive?
You spent eighteen years making medical decisions for your child without a second thought. You scheduled the appointments, signed the forms, and talked to the doctor when something went wrong. Then your child turns 18, and legally, all of that stops. If your college-bound son or daughter ends up in an emergency room this fall, you may not have the right to speak with their doctor at all.
Why Turning 18 Changes Everything, Legally
Once your child turns 18, they become a legal adult under Minnesota law, regardless of whether they still live at home or depend on you financially. That means federal privacy laws like HIPAA now protect their medical information from everyone, including you. A hospital can decline to share information about your child’s condition, treatment, or even whether they’ve been admitted, unless your child has given specific written permission.
This catches a lot of parents off guard. You might assume that because you’re paying tuition or still listed as an emergency contact, you’ll automatically be looped in if something happens. In practice, colleges and hospitals follow the law, not assumptions. If your child is unconscious, seriously injured, or too overwhelmed to advocate for themselves, you could be locked out of decisions and information at the exact moment you need them most.
A health care directive is the document that fixes this. It lets your child name you, or another trusted adult, as their health care agent, someone authorized to make medical decisions and receive health information if they’re unable to do so themselves. It’s a short, straightforward document, but it closes a real and common gap for families sending kids off to college.
What a Health Care Directive Actually Covers
A Minnesota health care directive typically does two things: it names a health care agent, and it records your child’s general wishes about medical treatment. It doesn’t need to be complicated or morbid. Most young adults won’t have detailed end-of-life preferences, and that’s fine. The document’s real value at this age is authorization, not instructions.
It’s also worth pairing with a HIPAA release and, in many cases, a durable power of attorney, which covers financial and administrative matters like accessing bank accounts, dealing with a landlord, or handling a phone or insurance issue if your child is unreachable or incapacitated. Together, these documents give you the legal footing to actually help when your child needs it, whether that’s a broken arm during a study abroad program or something more serious.
A few things worth knowing:
- Your child chooses who to name. They can name you, a step-parent, a sibling, or anyone else they trust. The decision is theirs.
- It can be updated later. An 18-year-old’s directive isn’t permanent. It can be revised as circumstances change.
- It travels with them. Many families keep a digital copy accessible so it’s on hand if a medical situation happens away from home, including out of state.
When It Helps to Have an Attorney Involved
You can find generic advance directive forms online, and for some families, that’s enough. But these documents work best when they’re drafted clearly, properly executed under Minnesota law, and coordinated with any other planning your family already has in place, like a family trust or existing powers of attorney. An attorney can also help you think through practical scenarios your family hasn’t considered yet, like out-of-state college attendance or a semester abroad, where different rules may apply.
Johnson/Turner has been helping Minnesota families plan for these transitions since 2003, and our attorneys can walk you and your child through exactly what a health care directive and power of attorney should include for this stage of life.
If your family has an 18-year-old heading off this fall, it’s worth spending thirty minutes making sure you’re legally prepared, not just emotionally ready. Schedule a free consultation with our estate planning team, and know your costs upfront with our flat-fee legal services.
