{"id":1874,"date":"2014-08-20T17:57:55","date_gmt":"2014-08-20T22:57:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/agrilife.org\/texasaglaw\/?p=1874"},"modified":"2026-04-17T15:32:04","modified_gmt":"2026-04-17T20:32:04","slug":"back-to-school-checklist-should-include-powers-of-attorneys-for-college-students","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/agrilife.org\/texasaglaw\/2014\/08\/20\/back-to-school-checklist-should-include-powers-of-attorneys-for-college-students\/","title":{"rendered":"Back To School Checklist Should Include Powers of Attorneys for College Students"},"content":{"rendered":"

Most of the time, powers of attorney are drafted as part of the estate planning process.\u00a0 As college students head back to campus this fall, however, they should consider preparing powers of attorney for financial and healthcare needs.<\/p>\n

\"kyle<\/a><\/p>\n

Once children reach the age of 18, parents are no longer able to automatically make financial and medical decisions on their behalf.\u00a0 For example, healthcare privacy laws will not let parents access healthcare information about their adult children absent written authorization.\u00a0 Similarly, if a child is in an accident and incapacitated, a parent may have to go through the legal\u00a0guardianship appointment process to make healthcare or financial\u00a0decisions for the child, which can take time and cost thousands of dollars in court and attorney fees.<\/p>\n

Powers of attorney help to avoid these issues.<\/p>\n

A\u00a0medical power of attorney appoints an agent to make decisions in the event that the signor is unable to make medical decisions.\u00a0 Many states, including Texas, have statutory forms available to allow people to easily draft a healthcare power of attorney.\u00a0 The Texas form may be found here<\/a>.\u00a0 Under Texas law, the form must either be notarized or signed in the presence of two witnesses.\u00a0 Once executed, the student should keep a copy of the form and provide another copy to the person he or she appoints to be the healthcare agent.<\/p>\n

A financial power of attorney allows the signor to appoint an agent to act on his or her behalf with regard to financial affairs.\u00a0 The power of attorney may be general (meaning the power of attorney becomes effective immediately) or springing (meaning it will not begin until a future time–usually when the person is declared incompetent by an attorney).\u00a0 A general power of attorney may be useful to allow the student’s parent to handle various financial affairs from home even if the student is not\u00a0declared incompetent.\u00a0 Again, a copy of this document should be retained by the student and a copy given to the appointed agent.\u00a0 Texas also provides a statutory form for a financial power of attorney, available here<\/a>.\u00a0 This document must be signed before a notary.<\/p>\n

Hopefully, college students will never need to rely upon these documents, but it is better to be safe than sorry!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Most of the time, powers of attorney are drafted as part of the estate planning process.\u00a0 As college students head back to campus this fall, however, they should consider preparing powers of attorney for financial and healthcare needs. Once children reach the age of 18, parents are no longer able to automatically make financial and medical decisions on their behalf.\u00a0 For example, healthcare privacy laws will not let parents access healthcare information about their adult children absent written authorization.\u00a0 Similarly, if a child is in an accident and… Read More →<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2443,"featured_media":568,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1874","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-estate-planning"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nBack To School Checklist Should Include Powers of Attorneys for College Students - Texas Agriculture Law<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/agrilife.org\/texasaglaw\/2014\/08\/20\/back-to-school-checklist-should-include-powers-of-attorneys-for-college-students\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Back To School Checklist Should Include Powers of Attorneys for College Students - Texas Agriculture Law\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Most of the time, powers of attorney are drafted as part of the estate planning process.\u00a0 As college students head back to campus this fall, however, they should consider preparing powers of attorney for financial and healthcare needs. Once children reach the age of 18, parents are no longer able to automatically make financial and medical decisions on their behalf.\u00a0 For example, healthcare privacy laws will not let parents access healthcare information about their adult children absent written authorization.\u00a0 Similarly, if a child is in an accident and... Read More →\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/agrilife.org\/texasaglaw\/2014\/08\/20\/back-to-school-checklist-should-include-powers-of-attorneys-for-college-students\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Texas Agriculture Law\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/texasaglaw\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2014-08-20T22:57:55+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-04-17T20:32:04+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/agrilife.org\/texasaglaw\/files\/2013\/09\/kyle-field.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"tiffany.dowelllashmet\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@tiffdowell\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@tiffdowell\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"tiffany.dowelllashmet\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":[\"Article\",\"BlogPosting\"],\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/agrilife.org\\\/texasaglaw\\\/2014\\\/08\\\/20\\\/back-to-school-checklist-should-include-powers-of-attorneys-for-college-students\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/agrilife.org\\\/texasaglaw\\\/2014\\\/08\\\/20\\\/back-to-school-checklist-should-include-powers-of-attorneys-for-college-students\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"tiffany.dowelllashmet\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/agrilife.org\\\/texasaglaw\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/754aac94b6e8c9d5829c91e8c9ff7626\"},\"headline\":\"Back To School Checklist Should Include Powers of Attorneys for College Students\",\"datePublished\":\"2014-08-20T22:57:55+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-17T20:32:04+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/agrilife.org\\\/texasaglaw\\\/2014\\\/08\\\/20\\\/back-to-school-checklist-should-include-powers-of-attorneys-for-college-students\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":386,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/agrilife.org\\\/texasaglaw\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/agrilife.org\\\/texasaglaw\\\/2014\\\/08\\\/20\\\/back-to-school-checklist-should-include-powers-of-attorneys-for-college-students\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/agrilife.org\\\/texasaglaw\\\/files\\\/2013\\\/09\\\/kyle-field.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Estate Planning\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/agrilife.org\\\/texasaglaw\\\/2014\\\/08\\\/20\\\/back-to-school-checklist-should-include-powers-of-attorneys-for-college-students\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/agrilife.org\\\/texasaglaw\\\/2014\\\/08\\\/20\\\/back-to-school-checklist-should-include-powers-of-attorneys-for-college-students\\\/\",\"name\":\"Back To School Checklist Should Include Powers of Attorneys for College Students - Texas Agriculture Law\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/agrilife.org\\\/texasaglaw\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/agrilife.org\\\/texasaglaw\\\/2014\\\/08\\\/20\\\/back-to-school-checklist-should-include-powers-of-attorneys-for-college-students\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/agrilife.org\\\/texasaglaw\\\/2014\\\/08\\\/20\\\/back-to-school-checklist-should-include-powers-of-attorneys-for-college-students\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/agrilife.org\\\/texasaglaw\\\/files\\\/2013\\\/09\\\/kyle-field.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2014-08-20T22:57:55+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-17T20:32:04+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/agrilife.org\\\/texasaglaw\\\/2014\\\/08\\\/20\\\/back-to-school-checklist-should-include-powers-of-attorneys-for-college-students\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/agrilife.org\\\/texasaglaw\\\/2014\\\/08\\\/20\\\/back-to-school-checklist-should-include-powers-of-attorneys-for-college-students\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/agrilife.org\\\/texasaglaw\\\/2014\\\/08\\\/20\\\/back-to-school-checklist-should-include-powers-of-attorneys-for-college-students\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/agrilife.org\\\/texasaglaw\\\/files\\\/2013\\\/09\\\/kyle-field.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/agrilife.org\\\/texasaglaw\\\/files\\\/2013\\\/09\\\/kyle-field.jpg\",\"width\":1280,\"height\":1280},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/agrilife.org\\\/texasaglaw\\\/2014\\\/08\\\/20\\\/back-to-school-checklist-should-include-powers-of-attorneys-for-college-students\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/agrilife.org\\\/texasaglaw\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Back To School Checklist Should Include Powers of Attorneys for College Students\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/agrilife.org\\\/texasaglaw\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/agrilife.org\\\/texasaglaw\\\/\",\"name\":\"Texas Agriculture Law\",\"description\":\"Teaching, Research, Extension and Service\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/agrilife.org\\\/texasaglaw\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/agrilife.org\\\/texasaglaw\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/agrilife.org\\\/texasaglaw\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Texas Agriculture Law\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/agrilife.org\\\/texasaglaw\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/agrilife.org\\\/texasaglaw\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/agrilife.org\\\/texasaglaw\\\/files\\\/2023\\\/12\\\/TZIFRg5K_400x400.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/agrilife.org\\\/texasaglaw\\\/files\\\/2023\\\/12\\\/TZIFRg5K_400x400.jpg\",\"width\":400,\"height\":400,\"caption\":\"Texas Agriculture Law\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/agrilife.org\\\/texasaglaw\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/texasaglaw\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/tiffdowell\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.linkedin.com\\\/in\\\/tiffany-dowell-lashmet-0a718778\\\/\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/agrilife.org\\\/texasaglaw\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/754aac94b6e8c9d5829c91e8c9ff7626\",\"name\":\"tiffany.dowelllashmet\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/agrilife.org\\\/texasaglaw\\\/author\\\/tiffany-dowelllashmet\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Back To School Checklist Should Include Powers of Attorneys for College Students - Texas Agriculture Law","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/agrilife.org\/texasaglaw\/2014\/08\/20\/back-to-school-checklist-should-include-powers-of-attorneys-for-college-students\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Back To School Checklist Should Include Powers of Attorneys for College Students - Texas Agriculture Law","og_description":"Most of the time, powers of attorney are drafted as part of the estate planning process.\u00a0 As college students head back to campus this fall, however, they should consider preparing powers of attorney for financial and healthcare needs. Once children reach the age of 18, parents are no longer able to automatically make financial and medical decisions on their behalf.\u00a0 For example, healthcare privacy laws will not let parents access healthcare information about their adult children absent written authorization.\u00a0 Similarly, if a child is in an accident and... Read More →","og_url":"https:\/\/agrilife.org\/texasaglaw\/2014\/08\/20\/back-to-school-checklist-should-include-powers-of-attorneys-for-college-students\/","og_site_name":"Texas Agriculture Law","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/texasaglaw","article_published_time":"2014-08-20T22:57:55+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-04-17T20:32:04+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1280,"height":1280,"url":"https:\/\/agrilife.org\/texasaglaw\/files\/2013\/09\/kyle-field.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"tiffany.dowelllashmet","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@tiffdowell","twitter_site":"@tiffdowell","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"tiffany.dowelllashmet","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":["Article","BlogPosting"],"@id":"https:\/\/agrilife.org\/texasaglaw\/2014\/08\/20\/back-to-school-checklist-should-include-powers-of-attorneys-for-college-students\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/agrilife.org\/texasaglaw\/2014\/08\/20\/back-to-school-checklist-should-include-powers-of-attorneys-for-college-students\/"},"author":{"name":"tiffany.dowelllashmet","@id":"https:\/\/agrilife.org\/texasaglaw\/#\/schema\/person\/754aac94b6e8c9d5829c91e8c9ff7626"},"headline":"Back To School Checklist Should Include Powers of Attorneys for College Students","datePublished":"2014-08-20T22:57:55+00:00","dateModified":"2026-04-17T20:32:04+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/agrilife.org\/texasaglaw\/2014\/08\/20\/back-to-school-checklist-should-include-powers-of-attorneys-for-college-students\/"},"wordCount":386,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/agrilife.org\/texasaglaw\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/agrilife.org\/texasaglaw\/2014\/08\/20\/back-to-school-checklist-should-include-powers-of-attorneys-for-college-students\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/agrilife.org\/texasaglaw\/files\/2013\/09\/kyle-field.jpg","articleSection":["Estate Planning"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/agrilife.org\/texasaglaw\/2014\/08\/20\/back-to-school-checklist-should-include-powers-of-attorneys-for-college-students\/","url":"https:\/\/agrilife.org\/texasaglaw\/2014\/08\/20\/back-to-school-checklist-should-include-powers-of-attorneys-for-college-students\/","name":"Back To School Checklist Should Include Powers of Attorneys for College Students - Texas Agriculture Law","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/agrilife.org\/texasaglaw\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/agrilife.org\/texasaglaw\/2014\/08\/20\/back-to-school-checklist-should-include-powers-of-attorneys-for-college-students\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/agrilife.org\/texasaglaw\/2014\/08\/20\/back-to-school-checklist-should-include-powers-of-attorneys-for-college-students\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/agrilife.org\/texasaglaw\/files\/2013\/09\/kyle-field.jpg","datePublished":"2014-08-20T22:57:55+00:00","dateModified":"2026-04-17T20:32:04+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/agrilife.org\/texasaglaw\/2014\/08\/20\/back-to-school-checklist-should-include-powers-of-attorneys-for-college-students\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/agrilife.org\/texasaglaw\/2014\/08\/20\/back-to-school-checklist-should-include-powers-of-attorneys-for-college-students\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/agrilife.org\/texasaglaw\/2014\/08\/20\/back-to-school-checklist-should-include-powers-of-attorneys-for-college-students\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/agrilife.org\/texasaglaw\/files\/2013\/09\/kyle-field.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/agrilife.org\/texasaglaw\/files\/2013\/09\/kyle-field.jpg","width":1280,"height":1280},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/agrilife.org\/texasaglaw\/2014\/08\/20\/back-to-school-checklist-should-include-powers-of-attorneys-for-college-students\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/agrilife.org\/texasaglaw\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Back To School Checklist Should Include Powers of Attorneys for College Students"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/agrilife.org\/texasaglaw\/#website","url":"https:\/\/agrilife.org\/texasaglaw\/","name":"Texas Agriculture Law","description":"Teaching, Research, Extension and Service","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/agrilife.org\/texasaglaw\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/agrilife.org\/texasaglaw\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/agrilife.org\/texasaglaw\/#organization","name":"Texas Agriculture Law","url":"https:\/\/agrilife.org\/texasaglaw\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/agrilife.org\/texasaglaw\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/agrilife.org\/texasaglaw\/files\/2023\/12\/TZIFRg5K_400x400.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/agrilife.org\/texasaglaw\/files\/2023\/12\/TZIFRg5K_400x400.jpg","width":400,"height":400,"caption":"Texas Agriculture Law"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/agrilife.org\/texasaglaw\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/texasaglaw","https:\/\/x.com\/tiffdowell","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/tiffany-dowell-lashmet-0a718778\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/agrilife.org\/texasaglaw\/#\/schema\/person\/754aac94b6e8c9d5829c91e8c9ff7626","name":"tiffany.dowelllashmet","url":"https:\/\/agrilife.org\/texasaglaw\/author\/tiffany-dowelllashmet\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/agrilife.org\/texasaglaw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1874","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/agrilife.org\/texasaglaw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/agrilife.org\/texasaglaw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agrilife.org\/texasaglaw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2443"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agrilife.org\/texasaglaw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1874"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/agrilife.org\/texasaglaw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1874\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15967,"href":"https:\/\/agrilife.org\/texasaglaw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1874\/revisions\/15967"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agrilife.org\/texasaglaw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/568"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/agrilife.org\/texasaglaw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1874"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agrilife.org\/texasaglaw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1874"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agrilife.org\/texasaglaw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1874"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}