When Your Child Turns 18: What Maryland Parents Should Know

When you are preparing a child for college, the list can feel endless: tuition, housing, class schedules, meal plans, and making sure they know how to do their own laundry. Legal documents rarely make the list. But once your child turns 18, there is another part of preparing them for adulthood that deserves attention.

What Changes at 18

Turning 18 changes a parent’s legal role. You may still be paying the bills, providing health insurance, and answering late-night calls for help, but those things do not automatically give you authority to handle your child’s financial affairs, make their medical decisions, or see their records.

For most of the year this goes unnoticed. It tends to come up at the worst possible moment: a hospital visit, a frozen bank account, or a problem at school that the college will only discuss with the student.

If Something Happens and Nothing Is in Writing

Estate planning is useful even for someone whose most valuable possessions are a laptop and a car. For a young adult, the planning is mostly about who can help them while they are alive.

If your student is seriously ill or injured and cannot make medical decisions, Maryland law provides a process for identifying a surrogate decision-maker when no agent has been appointed. That process works, but it means the law chooses who decides, not your student.

When a student’s parents are divorced or were never married, relying on state law adds another layer of complexity. The law puts each parent on equal footing, which can make decisions harder if the parents do not agree. Naming an agent in advance lets your student settle that question ahead of time.

Money is harder. No law lets a parent step in and manage an adult child’s bank accounts or sign on their behalf. If your student cannot act and has not named anyone, the family may need to ask a court for guardianship, which takes time and money during an already difficult stretch.

A few signed documents avoid most of this.

Medical Decisions

An advance medical directive allows your student to name a health care agent to make medical decisions if they cannot make those decisions themselves. It can also record their treatment preferences.

Naming an agent in advance lets your student make that choice personally and tell that person what they would want. It is also a good starting point for a family conversation: whom does your student want involved, and what would they want that person to know?

Medical Information

Deciding and knowing are separate questions. Health care privacy rules limit what doctors and hospitals can share about an adult patient, and that includes sharing with parents. Families are often surprised to find that a hospital will not give them an update on their own child.

Your student can sign a written authorization that lets providers share health information with the people they name. Ask us whether your student’s plan should include one.

Money and Accounts

A financial power of attorney allows your student to appoint a trusted person, called an agent, to handle financial and legal matters within the authority the document grants. In Maryland this is often the Maryland Statutory Personal Financial Power of Attorney.

That authority can include managing bank accounts, paying bills, and handling contracts. A durable power of attorney remains effective if the student becomes incapacitated.

Timing matters too. Depending on how the document is written, an agent’s authority may begin immediately or upon a specified event. Your student should understand the powers they are granting and choose someone they trust to act responsibly.

College Records

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, commonly called FERPA, protects student education records. FERPA rights transfer to the student when they turn 18 or attend a college or university, regardless of age.

Although the law permits disclosure to parents in certain circumstances, families should not assume that paying tuition guarantees access to grades or other records. A FERPA waiver gives written consent for the school to share specified records with people the student designates. Colleges may require their own consent form or an authorization through the student’s online account, so check with the school as well.

Does an 18-Year-Old Need a Will?

Many don’t. A student with few assets and no children usually has more to gain from the documents above than from a will. A will is worth discussing if your student owns a car, has meaningful savings, or wants a say in who receives their property. If your student has a retirement or investment account, check the beneficiary designation too.

When to Take Care of It

The easiest time is the summer before your student leaves, when everyone is home and a signing appointment fits around work and orientation. It is not too late if your student is already enrolled.

Once the documents are signed, make sure the people named can find them. A copy on the student’s phone and the agent’s phone is much more useful in an emergency than an original in a file drawer at home. If your student attends school outside Maryland, let us know so we can discuss any additional considerations.

Planning That Respects Your Student’s Independence

These documents should reflect your student’s choices. The student decides whom to appoint, what authority to grant, and what information to share.

The process gives families a chance to talk about how support will work as their child becomes an adult. It can set clear expectations while making sure a trusted person is available when needed.

How We Can Help

Leffler, Bayoumi & Oliver, LLC offers a college student planning package for Maryland students age 18 and older, whether they are getting ready to leave for school or already enrolled. To get started, call 410-740-1180 or contact our office.