Turning 18 in California: The Two Estate Planning Documents Every New Adult (and Their Parent) Needs

When a child turns 18 in California, parents lose automatic legal access to their medical records, financial accounts, and decision-making authority. Two estate planning documents close that gap: an Advance Health Care Directive (which includes HIPAA authorization) and a Durable Financial Power of Attorney. With both in place, parents can step in if a young adult is unable to manage their own affairs during illness, injury, or emergency

Spring in Orange County is graduation season: — caps and gowns at Esperanza, Mater Dei, Northwood, and dozens of other high schools across the county, followed by a flurry of move-in days at colleges in California and beyond. For families with a graduating senior, the focus is rightly on the milestone itself

What most parents don’t realize is that the day their child turns 18 (even if that day happens while their child is still in high school!), — usually well before that first college semester begins — they lose nearly all of their “automatic”legal authority over that child’s medical care and financial life. Federal privacy laws, California state law, and basic principles of adulthood all take effect on the eighteenth birthday, regardless of whether the young adult is living at home, on a parent’s health insurance, or financially dependent

The good news is that closing this gap is straightforward. Two documents, properly prepared and signed before a new adult leaves for college or moves into independent life, give parents the ability to step in when their adult child cannot speak for themselves

On the eighteenth birthday in California, a person becomes a legal adult. From that moment:

• Healthcare providers can no longer share medical information with parents without the patient’s authorization. The federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) protects an adult’s medical privacy, even from close family.
• Hospitals and physicians look to the patient, and not the parent, for medical decisions. If the young adult is unconscious or otherwise unable to communicate, providers may have no clear authority to follow a parent’s instructions.
• • Banks, schools, and other financial institutions generally cannot release information or take direction from a parent. Even if the parent pays the bill or contributed the funds, the legal account holder is the adult child
• Universities follow the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), which protects a student’s academic and disciplinary records.

For most families, none of this is a problem on an ordinary day. The issues arise during emergencies, when parents need access and authority right now and discover that the law no longer assumes they have it.

When These Documents Matter Most

These documents are rarely needed, but when they are, they tend to be needed urgently. Three common scenarios show what is at stake:

• College accident or illness. A freshman away at school is in a car accident, taken to a hospital several hours from home, and arrives unconscious. Without an Advance Health Care Directive, the treating physician may not know who has the authority to make decisions or share information with the family. The parents drive several hours not knowing what they will be allowed to do when they arrive
• Studying abroad with a financial issue. A college junior studying in Europe has their wallet stolen and their primary bank account frozen due to suspected fraud. From eight time zones away, the young adult cannot reach the bank during U.S. business hours. With a Durable Financial Power of Attorney in place, a parent can call, verify their authority, and help resolve the issue.
• Mental health crisis. A young adult experiencing a serious mental health episode may be unable to communicate clearly with treatment providers or to manage routine financial obligations during an extended hospitalization. The documents give a trusted parent legal standing to step in and help, then step back when the young adult recovers

Document 1: Advance Health Care Directive (with HIPAA Authorization)

An Advance Health Care Directive is a California statutory document, governed by California Probate Code sections 4670 and following, that does two things:

• Names an agent (typically a parent for a young adult) to make medical decisions if the patient cannot make them.
• Sets out the patient’s wishes regarding life-sustaining treatment, organ donation, and other healthcare preferences

A well-drafted Advance Health Care Directive also incorporates HIPAA authorization directly within the document, giving the named agent and any backup agents access to medical records and the ability to communicate freely with healthcare providers. This combined approachavoids the situation where a parent has authority to make medical decisions but cannot actually see the records needed to make them informed. It also simplifies the paperwork the young adult and their family have to manage.

The directive is not just for catastrophic situations. It also gives the named agent authority to ask a doctor for an update, schedule a follow-up appointment, or coordinate care during a hospitalization for something as routine as appendicitis.

A Durable Financial Power of Attorney, governed by California Probate Code sections 4000 and following, names an agent who can act on the young adult’s behalf in financial matters. “Durable” means the document remains effective even if the young adult later becomes incapacitated, which is precisely when it is needed most.

For a young adult, a properly drafted power of attorney can authorize a parent or other trusted agent to:

• Access bank accounts to pay bills or move money during an emergency.
• Access bank accounts to pay bills or move money during an emergency.
• Handle insurance claims after an accident.
• File tax returns when the young adult is studying abroad or temporarily unavailable
• Manage rent, leases, and other financial obligations during a period when the young adult is unable to do so.

The scope of the document can be broad or narrow. Most parents and young adults benefit from a conversation with an attorney about which powers make sense for their situation. A document used as a safety net for emergencies looks different from one designed to actively manage a young adult’s affairs during a year abroad.

Both documents are creatures of California law and have specific execution requirements:

• The Advance Health Care Directive must be either notarized or signed by two qualifying witnesses to be valid.
• The Durable Power of Attorney is signed in the presence of a notary public, and the agent’s authority is supported by the California Probate Code.
• Both documents should be reviewed if the young adult moves out of state, particularly for an extended period, because other states have their own forms and execution requirements.
• Copies should be kept with the young adult, their named agents, their primary physician, and ideally uploaded to a secure digital location accessible to the family.

The Family Conversation That Matters Most

Beyond the documents themselves, preparing these papers usually triggers a conversation most families have never had: who would the young adult want making decisions for them? What would they want done in different situations? Whose information should be shared and with whom?

These conversations are not always easy, but they are calmer when they happen in an attorney’s office before a crisis than in a hospital corridor during one. Many parents report that the conversation itself was the most valuable part of the process, and that their young adult appreciated being treated as the responsible adult that the documents formally recognize them to be.

A typical young adult planning session takes a single sitting, often less than an hour, with the goal of discussing and ultimately completing both documents. For most Orange County families, the ideal timing is between the eighteenth birthday and the start of college or independent life, generally in late spring or early summer for graduating seniors.

Goodman Estate Law

Brett J. Goodman is the founder and lead attorney at Goodman Estate Law, based in Laguna Hills, CA. The firm specializes in Estate Planning, Trust Administration, and Probate, helping individuals and families create or update wills and trusts. With a focus on personalized, compassionate, and professional guidance, Goodman Estate Law ensures clients’ assets and futures are protected during every stage of estate planning.