When your child turns 18, federal law treats them as a legal adult overnight, and the legal checklist for when your child turns 18 comes down to a short set of signed documents: a HIPAA authorization, a healthcare proxy, a durable financial power of attorney, a FERPA release if they’re heading to college, and Selective Service registration within 30 days if your child is male. Everything else on this page is detail around those five items.
The Three Documents to Sign First
The privacy walls that go up on an 18th birthday all have the same solution: your child signs documents giving you (or another trusted person) legal authority to act on their behalf. Three documents cover nearly every scenario a family is likely to face.
HIPAA Authorization
Under HIPAA’s general disclosure rule, healthcare providers cannot share protected health information with anyone other than the patient unless the patient authorizes it or another legal exception applies.1eCFR. 45 CFR 164.502 – Uses and Disclosures of Protected Health Information: General Rules This applies even if your 18-year-old is still on your employer-sponsored insurance. The day they turn 18, doctors and hospital staff cannot tell you about diagnoses, treatment plans, prescriptions, or appointments without written permission.
A HIPAA authorization is a written form that lets your child designate who can receive their medical information. Federal regulations require the form to include a specific description of the information to be disclosed, the names of the people authorized to receive it, the purpose of the disclosure, an expiration date or event, and the patient’s signature and date.2eCFR. 45 CFR 164.508 – Uses and Disclosures for Which an Authorization Is Required The form must also tell the patient they can revoke the authorization in writing at any time. Many hospitals and doctor’s offices have their own HIPAA forms available at the front desk or through patient portals.
A practical move: have your child sign authorizations at each healthcare provider they use regularly, and keep a general-purpose authorization in your own files for emergencies at unfamiliar facilities. Some families set the authorization to cover all health information with no expiration; others prefer to limit it to emergencies. Either works as long as the required elements are present.
Healthcare Proxy or Medical Power of Attorney
A HIPAA authorization lets you receive information. A healthcare proxy (called a medical power of attorney in some states) lets you make medical decisions if your child cannot speak for themselves. This is the document that matters when your child is unconscious, sedated, or otherwise unable to communicate with doctors. Without one, a hospital may need a court order before you can authorize surgery or other treatment.
Your child should name a primary agent and a backup in case the primary is unavailable. The document can include specific instructions about preferences for life-sustaining treatment, surgical interventions, and other care decisions. Many states provide free statutory forms through their department of health or state bar association websites.
Durable Financial Power of Attorney
A durable financial power of attorney gives a designated agent the authority to handle financial matters on the young adult’s behalf. “Durable” means the power survives incapacity, which is exactly when you are most likely to need it. Your child can specify whether the power takes effect immediately or only if a physician certifies they cannot manage their own affairs.
The scope can be broad or narrow. Common powers include paying bills, managing bank accounts, filing taxes, and handling insurance claims. Your child should also consider whether the document covers digital assets like cryptocurrency accounts and online financial platforms. An attorney typically charges around $300 to draft a durable power of attorney as part of a basic estate planning package, though costs vary by firm. Families on a tighter budget can find state-specific templates through legal aid organizations, though having an attorney review even a template form is worth the expense.
FERPA Release for College Records
Once a student turns 18 or enrolls in a postsecondary institution, FERPA transfers all parental rights over educational records directly to the student.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 20 USC 1232g – Family Educational and Privacy Rights Your child’s college is not obligated to share grades, disciplinary records, financial aid status, or attendance information with you, even if you are writing the tuition checks.
There is an exception many parents miss. FERPA allows schools to disclose records to parents without the student’s consent if the student qualifies as a dependent for federal tax purposes under Section 152 of the Internal Revenue Code.4eCFR. 34 CFR 99.31 – Under What Conditions Is Prior Consent Not Required for Disclosure Most 18-year-olds heading to college are still claimed as dependents, so this covers a large share of families. The catch: the school is permitted to disclose under this exception, not required to. Each institution sets its own policy, and many colleges default to keeping parents out unless the student signs a consent form. Call the registrar’s office early and ask what their policy is.
FERPA also has a narrow health and safety emergency exception that lets schools share information with parents when necessary to protect the student in a genuine emergency.5U.S. Department of Education. FERPA – Protecting Student Privacy It is not a workaround for checking on grades mid-semester.
If your child wants you to have routine access, they can sign a FERPA release directly with their school. The consent must be in writing, signed and dated, and must specify which records may be disclosed, the purpose, and who can receive them.6U.S. Department of Education. What Must a Consent to Disclose Education Records Contain Most colleges have a standard form in their registrar or student affairs office.
Selective Service Registration
If your child is male, federal law requires registration with the Selective Service System within 30 days of turning 18. This applies to nearly all male U.S. citizens and male immigrants between ages 18 and 25, including undocumented immigrants and dual nationals.7Selective Service System. Who Needs to Register Registration is not enlistment. It maintains a database the government could use if Congress ever reinstated a draft.
The consequences of skipping go well beyond the theoretical. Failing to register is a federal crime punishable by up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. Criminal prosecution is rare, but the collateral damage is not: young men who fail to register lose eligibility for federal student financial aid, federal job training programs, and most federal employment, and those consequences can follow them for decades. Proof of registration is also required for naturalization.8Selective Service System. Frequently Asked Questions
Registration takes about two minutes online at sss.gov. Those without a Social Security number can register by mail or at a local post office.9Selective Service System. Register It is the easiest item on the checklist and the one with the most disproportionate consequences if missed.
How to Execute and Distribute the Documents
Having the documents drafted is only half the job. Every state has its own execution requirements, and a form that is not properly signed is a form that does not work when you need it. Most states require at least notarization for a durable power of attorney, and many require one or two witnesses in addition to the notary. Healthcare proxy requirements vary similarly. The witnesses generally cannot be the same people named as agents in the document. Check your state’s specific rules before the signing appointment.
Once everything is signed and notarized, distribute copies strategically:
- Provide the HIPAA authorization and healthcare proxy to your child’s primary care physician so they are in the medical record before any emergency.
- If your child is heading to school, file copies of the healthcare proxy and FERPA release with both the college health center and the registrar.
- Take the original durable power of attorney to your child’s bank. Many financial institutions require the original to be presented in person before they will grant account access to an agent. Do this proactively rather than during a crisis.
- Give every person named as an agent in any document their own physical copy, and tell them where the originals are stored.
Store the originals in a secure, accessible location like a fireproof safe at home. A locked safe-deposit box sounds safe but can create a circular problem if the person who needs the document is the same person who cannot get to the box. Upload scans to a secure cloud storage folder and make sure at least one designated agent has access credentials.
Smaller Items Worth Handling the Same Week
A few additional tasks round out the checklist. None involves a lawyer, and all can be handled quickly.
Voter registration. Registration is available through mail-in forms, in-person at government offices, and in most states through online portals. Many states offer automatic registration when applying for or renewing a driver’s license. Your child needs to be a U.S. citizen and meet state residency requirements, and registration must be completed before the state’s deadline to vote in an upcoming election.
Jury duty awareness. Eligibility begins at 18. Federal courts draw juror names from voter registration lists and other databases, so registering to vote may put your child in the jury pool.10United States Courts. Juror Qualifications, Exemptions and Excuses Full-time students can often request a postponement if summoned during the school year, but they cannot ignore the summons.
Smartphone Medical ID. Both iPhones and Android devices let users store medical conditions, allergies, medications, blood type, and emergency contact information in a profile that paramedics and ER staff can access from the lock screen without a passcode. On an iPhone, this is configured through the Health app by enabling “Show When Locked” under Emergency Access. Android users can set up a similar profile through the device’s safety settings or a free medical ID app. It does not replace the legal documents above, but it gives first responders immediate access to critical information and a phone number to call.
Confirm dependency status. Turning 18 does not automatically end your ability to claim your child as a dependent. The IRS qualifying child rules allow you to claim a child who is under age 19 at year-end, or under 24 if they are a full-time student, with no upper limit if they are permanently and totally disabled.11Internal Revenue Service. Dependents To claim them, they must live with you for more than half the year, you must provide more than half of their support, and they cannot file a joint return with a spouse except solely to claim a refund. Keeping dependency status matters beyond your tax return; it is what triggers the FERPA exception described above.
Talk about credit. At 18, your child can open bank accounts, sign contracts, and take on debt in their own name, but under the Credit CARD Act, no credit card issuer can open an account for someone under 21 unless the applicant demonstrates independent income sufficient to cover minimum payments, or has a cosigner who is at least 21.12Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1637 – Open End Consumer Credit Plans For building credit without a cosigner, your child can become an authorized user on one of your existing cards or open a secured card where the credit limit equals a cash deposit.