With you
child's college acceptance now in hand, you can turn your attention to
preparing your 18 year old for this new and exciting stage of life.
You will have
a lot to plan for as you prepare to send your "baby" off to school this
fall. Making sure that they have the
right bedding, dorm supplies and meal plan is all part of that planning.
Once you've gotten
through the checklists and dropped them off (with some tears and lots of good
advice), the only thing you'll have left to do is worry. You'll worry whether your freshman is eating
enough, studying enough, and getting enough sleep. While we can't help with these
everyday concerns, we can help with one of the big ones: How will you know if something happens to
your son or daughter while away at school?
In most cases, unless your 18 year old has created the appropriate legal documents, (i.e. HIPAA release, Patient Advocate Designation) you might not know. HIPAA, the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, was created to help protect patient privacy; but it can mean that you, as the parent of an "adult child", may not be able to get information about your child in a medical emergency. This is why your 18-25 year old college aged child needs a HIPAA release before leaving home.
-Christopher J. Berry, Esq.
