The day your child turns 18, the law stops treating you as their automatic representative. You can no longer call their doctor, see their grades, or step in financially without their okay, even though, to you, they’re still your kid. The good news: with a few simple documents they sign, you can stay in their corner. And like every milestone, it’s not just the birthday, it’s all the stuff attached to it. And remember, every path is unique; these are suggestions, not advice.
Help your child set up their own protections
- These are your child’s to sign, your role is to make sure they know to.
- Be sure to set up a Gentreo account for your child to begin managing their own milestones going forward.
- A Health Care Proxy lets them name you (or someone) to make medical decisions if they can’t, Gentreo’s includes HIPAA authorization and an advance directive, so you can actually talk to their doctors.
- A Power of Attorney lets them name someone to handle their financial matters in an emergency.
- A FERPA release lets you stay involved with school records, if they’re in college.
Get their money set up
- Help them open checking and savings accounts in their own name.
- Start them on building credit, a starter or credit-builder option from your bank or credit union.
- Review any custodial accounts (UTMA/UGMA) you opened for them, control transfers to them at the age your state sets, often 18 or 21, so check when that applies.
- Turn on identity-theft monitoring as their financial life begins
Make sure they’re covered
- Confirm they’re still on a family health plan, they can usually stay until 26, and that they know how to use it.
- Walk through any coverage they’ll need on their own, and the deadlines that come with a change.
Don’t forget the easy-to-miss items you could suggest they tackle
- Register to vote.
- Complete Selective Service registration, if it’s required of them.
- Make sure they know where their important documents live, a Gentreo Digital Vault keeps everything reachable.
Pass the baton
- Turning 18 is a milestone of their own now, a natural moment for them to start managing the milestones ahead with the same tools that have helped your family.
Documents to consider
You don’t have to cover it all in one conversation. Start with the Health Care Proxy, the document families most wish they’d had, and Gentreo helps with the rest.
More launching them. Less worrying.
Gentreo is not a law firm or a substitute for a law firm or attorney or an attorney’s advice. Gentreo provides self-help services at your specific direction.
