<p>Son leaves for freshman year in about 1 month. We've planned the trip, bought bedding BUT missed the most important things on the "to do" list! I was just told that I need to have son sign a Power of Attorney form in case he needs me to intervene with his banking (and I don't know what else?) </p>
<p>*I was told I also need a form, a Health Care directive, to let us parents make medical decisions in case he is hurt. This certainly seems more important than the POA to me and I want to have everything all set by the time he leaves. I need help and was told that I should have done this when he turned 18 in March-yikes! Where is that parent handbook when you really need it?</p>
<p>We live in CA and son will go to school in NY. The past posts I could find said these forms are "state specific" so do we get forms for NY where son will be or California? or both?</p>
<p>I was told none of these forms need an actual attorney so there is no expense as long as I do it correctly. Does anyone have a good link for the Power of Attorney form and what exactly does that do? We don't have an attorney. </p>
<p>Lastly, am I missing any other BIG things to do before he leaves? </p>
<p>Thanks in advance for your help or replies.</p>
<p>It was cleaner and easier for us to just add me to the kids’ accounts, so we were both on their accounts at home & when they were away at school. I did have them sign all forms that the school had, allowing me access to their financial, academic and all medical information. The school should be able to provide all of that. Take a deep breath, it’s fine! Our parents didn’t do any of that and we were all fine as well. </p>
<p>You may wish to ask the parents’ association of your child’s U if there is anything else you should be aware of or do specific to that U. You may wish to make hotel reservations near campus for move-in day and parents weekend, if that fills up fast.</p>
<p>It was handy to be able to have access to finances for the U and also have joint accounts. It was also handy that I was authorized to speak with my kids medical providers and help arrange for medical records to be sent among their docs. Our kids’ U had a ‘Guest’ account that the student could authorize, which our kids did. This allowed us to check up on financial info and also keep a casual eye on their progress toward degree. (We did prod them from time to time, especially if they had an incomplete that they didn’t clear, as well as if it appeared that not all requirements were met toward degree and it was last or nearly last term.) </p>
<p>We and kids had to complete a separate form with the U for access to medical records. We and kids also had to sign one with insurer, so we could help keep all of that straight as well.</p>
<p>Less important that a durable power of attorney for financial affairs (which he can probably handle himself on-line, on the phone or by mail) are the medical power of attorney and HIPAA authorization. The HIPAA authorization allows doctors to talk to you if he is incapacitated, and the medical power of attorney allows you to make health care decisions for him if he is incapacitated. Here is a link I found for a HIPAA authorization from NY state.</p>
<p>Most states have medical power of attorney forms online. </p>
<p>Nolo has some great books on the subject with example documents. You can find them in the library.
[Lawyers</a>, Legal Forms, Law Books & Software, Free Legal Information - Nolo.com](<a href=“http://www.nolo.com%5DLawyers”>http://www.nolo.com)</p>
<p>We started with the U our kiddos attended and filled out THEIR forms so THEY would honor it. Made no sense to us to fill out forms we thought would suffice, only to potentially have problems if the school decided not to accept them. It worked well for us and I highly recommend this approach to minimize stress and duplication. There are many other parents with this same issue so Us like to have standardized forms that have been created and approved by THEIR attorneys.</p>
<p>Actually, it IS handy to ask your S to find out about any authorizations the U can provide so you can help with medical records & bills (medical & those related to college & financial transactions). We found it invaluable, so we could get and transmit info, even tho our kids COULD communicate, we and they wanted to focus on studies NOT untangling medical stuff & insurance & other financial red tape.</p>
<p>In terms of health, have your S sign/tell the health center that he gives them permission to talk to you about his health issues. My son’s school let he just call them after he had been seen for something that I wanted to know more about how they planned to evaluate him.</p>
<p>He did have one procedure at the local hospital and since I was ok’d for the clinic to talk to, when the results came in I could just call the nurse to go over them with me. </p>
<p>For banking, I am on my son’s account as a “co”. He is the account owner.</p>