5 LEGAL DOCUMENTS EVERY COLLEGE STUDENT NEEDS

1. POWER OF ATTORNEY

The Power of Attorney, often referred to as a durable power of attorney, is the swiss army knife in most estate planner’s tool box.  It is used to legally authorize someone other than you (maybe your parents) to act on your behalf.  Most states, Florida included, have laws that require third parties to comply with them or face legal consequences.

It is extremely useful for parents to help manage bank accounts, talk with your rental office, help assist with disputes with third parties, and even talk to College representatives.

(Click Here to Read our Article on Why Every College Student Needs a Power of Attorney)

2. HEALTHCARE SURROGATE

A Healthcare Surrogate (also called a Healthcare Power of Attorney or Healthcare Proxy) is a legal document where your college student would designate a person or people to step in and make emergency healthcare decisions for them in the event they are unable to.  The form will allow their designated surrogate(s) to interact with medical staff without restrictions.

We never know when an accident or medical emergency will occur. This legal document is essential for every college student. It is VITAL for Student Athletes, as injuries occur regularly in most sports.

It is best to choose one or two people, and maybe a back-up, that is trustworthy (most often times they are the parents) and knows them, and they feel comfortable making sound medical choices when they can’t.  Their life may depend on it.

3. LIVING WILL

The Living Will (not a regular will) is a legal estate planning document used to choose in advance certain healthcare decisions, in the event someone is in a persistent vegetative state or if they receiving end-of-life care.

In this college student legal document, your student can designate if they want certain life sustaining or prolonging procedures or care to be performed or withheld, such as ventilators, dialysis, tube feeding, organ donation and other end-of-life care. 

4. HIPAA RELEASE

HIPAA is a federal law that prohibits medical professionals from sharing a person’s medical records with third parties. A HIPAA RELEASE (also called HIPAA Waiver or HIPAA Consent) is a legal document used in conjunction with a Healthcare Surrogate.

This document authorizes your college student’s medical professionals to give designated people access to your medical records. 

HIPAA releases are helpful to allow your doctors and physicians to lawfully give access to designated people, like parents!

Click Here for HIPAA Discussion on the CDC

5. FERPA CONSENT

FERPA is another federal law. This one applies to the privacy of student records. When our children are under the age of 18, we as parents have the rights regarding their educational records. When our children turn 18 the rights transfer to the student. They are considered “eligible students”.

FERPA Consent forms allows your student to designate certain people (like parents) they want to have access to their student records. This legal document for college students is useful for situations when parents need to talk to, or get information from, a College’s financial aid office, student housing, the registrar, and maybe even a professor (try not to overstep on this one). 

Click Here for US Dept. of Education Discussion on FERPA

So there you have it! The 5 Legal Documents Every College Student Needs. These Legal Document For College Students are essential. Don’t send your child to college without them.

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THE  5 LEGAL DOCUMENTS EVERY COLLEGE STUDENT NEEDS *UPDATED FOR 2023*