By Krystle Wells, Pennsylvania Commissioned Notary Public and founder of Wells Notary Service LLC

Turning 18 does not mean your young adult suddenly stops needing family support. The relationship does not disappear on their birthday. What changes is that parents may no longer have the same automatic access or authority they had when their son or daughter was a minor.

This is something I started thinking about as my daughter got closer to adulthood. Over the years, I signed travel-consent forms so she could travel outside the country with her grandparents. More recently, we opened a custodial credit-union account so she can learn how to manage money before the account changes at 18.

Then I saw a cousin’s family prepare medical paperwork before their daughter went to college out of state. Her particular medical directive used two witnesses and was also notarized. That made me realize how easy it is for families to prepare for tuition, housing, books, and transportation while overlooking what would happen if their young adult had a medical emergency and could not communicate.

The goal is not for parents to hold onto control. It is for the young adult to understand their choices, decide whom they trust, and make it easier for their wishes to be followed if help is ever needed.

At 18, support may require permission

At 18, a young person generally reaches legal adulthood under the law of their state. Federal education and health-privacy rules also begin treating an 18-year-old—or, for education records, a student attending a postsecondary institution at any age—as the person who controls important rights and information.

That does not mean a parent can never receive information or help with a decision. It means the parent should not assume that being listed as “Mom,” “Dad,” or an emergency contact automatically gives unlimited access to medical records, college records, bank accounts, or legal decisions.

This is why the conversation should happen before there is an emergency.

Start with the young adult’s wishes

If I were going through medical-directive planning with my daughter, I would explain that we can review the process together so she understands every decision and the possible effect of each choice. She should decide how she wants to be medically treated and whom she trusts to help if she cannot speak for herself.

My role would be to support the decisions she makes and accept any responsibility she chooses to give me. This is not me overriding her decisions. This is me making sure that what she wants is carried out.

That distinction matters. A healthcare document should not become a way for a parent to pressure a young adult. The young adult is the person granting authority, setting instructions, and deciding whom to trust. If the family needs help understanding the legal effect of those choices, they should speak with a qualified attorney or appropriate healthcare professional.

“Emergency contact” is not the same as decision-making authority

Families often use several terms as if they mean the same thing: emergency contact, HIPAA authorization, healthcare power of attorney, advance directive, and living will. They can serve different purposes.

• An emergency contact gives an organization someone to notify. It does not automatically create broad authority to access private records or make healthcare decisions.
• A HIPAA authorization may allow specified medical information to be shared with named people, within the scope and duration of the authorization.
• A healthcare power of attorney can name a healthcare agent to make healthcare decisions when the document is operative and within the authority granted.
• An advance healthcare directive may include instructions about treatment and may include a healthcare power of attorney.
• A living will generally addresses treatment instructions for particular end-of-life circumstances governed by applicable law.

These descriptions are general, not a recommendation that every young adult needs every document. The right combination depends on the person’s wishes, governing law, healthcare situation, school or provider procedures, and legal advice they receive.

Medical information and medical decisions are related—but different

HIPAA generally treats an adult’s lawful personal representative as the adult for healthcare matters within the representative’s authority. The scope depends on the authority actually granted under state or other applicable law.

That means a document authorizing someone to receive information may not be identical to a document authorizing that person to make healthcare decisions. A family should ask separate questions:

1. Who may receive medical information?
2. Who should be contacted during an emergency?
3. Who may make decisions if the young adult cannot?
4. When does that authority begin and end?
5. What instructions or limits does the young adult want included?

When a healthcare power of attorney becomes operative depends on the document and the law that governs it. Some authority begins immediately; other authority is triggered only after the person cannot make or communicate decisions. This is one reason families should not assume that a signed form gives somebody immediate control over every healthcare matter.

Does a medical directive have to be notarized?

Do not assume that every healthcare document has the same signing requirements.

My cousin’s particular medical directive was signed with two witnesses and was also notarized. That was the process used for the document presented to me, but it is not a universal rule for every healthcare power of attorney or directive.

Requirements vary by document and jurisdiction. The document preparer, an attorney licensed in the applicable state, healthcare provider, school, or intended recipient should tell the young adult what document is appropriate and how it must be executed. A notary can perform an eligible requested notarial act, but the notary should not choose the healthcare document or decide what legal authority the family needs.

College records change too

Under FERPA, education-record rights generally transfer from the parents to the student when the student turns 18 or attends a postsecondary institution at any age. Colleges may have forms or portals through which the student can authorize certain disclosures.

FERPA also contains circumstances in which a school may disclose information without the student’s consent, including some health-and-safety emergencies and certain disclosures involving a tax-dependent student. Those exceptions should not be treated as a family’s everyday access plan.

Before school begins, the student should check the institution’s procedures and decide what, if anything, they want shared with a parent or another trusted person. Families should discuss grades, billing, financial aid, housing, disciplinary matters, and emergency communication separately rather than assuming one permission covers everything.

Banking is part of the transition—even when nothing needs notarization

My daughter and I recently opened a custodial credit-union account. It is helping her learn about deposits, spending, saving, account security, and money management before she turns 18. I do not remember having to notarize anything for that account, and that is an important reminder: not every part of turning 18 requires notarization.

The financial institution controls what happens to a custodial or youth account when the young person reaches the applicable age. Families should ask the bank or credit union:

• When and how will control of the account change?
• Will the account number, access credentials, or account type change?
• Will the parent retain any access?
• Does the young adult want a joint account, an authorized user, payable-on-death designation, or another arrangement?
• What fraud alerts, spending controls, and security settings should the young adult understand?

Those options have different effects. The bank or credit union can explain its products and procedures, and an attorney or financial professional can advise on legal or financial consequences when needed.

Travel planning changes after 18

Before 18, a child traveling internationally without every parent or guardian may need consent paperwork, depending on the destination, carrier, custody arrangements, and other requirements. I have completed those forms for my daughter when she traveled with her grandparents.

After 18, the traveler is legally an adult, so the planning changes. The young adult should control their passport, travel documents, emergency information, medical needs, and travel permissions. Families should still share itineraries and emergency contacts if the young adult agrees, but a parent’s old minor-travel authority does not remain the same forever.

Travel-document rules vary widely, so families should check the destination, airline or carrier, passport authority, and any relevant legal or custody requirements before departure.

A family readiness conversation before the birthday

The most useful preparation may begin with a calm conversation rather than a stack of forms. Parent and young adult can review:

• the young adult’s preferred emergency contacts;
• who may receive healthcare information;
• whom the young adult would trust to make decisions if they could not;
• current doctors, medications, allergies, insurance information, and pharmacy;
• the college’s emergency, health-center, and education-record procedures;
• bank-account ownership, access, security, and transition dates;
• passport and travel-document storage;
• where signed documents and secure digital copies will be kept;
• who needs a copy and how documents can be retrieved during an emergency;
• whether an attorney, healthcare professional, school, bank, or other qualified source should be consulted.

The young adult should understand every document before signing it. They should have room to ask questions, choose their own trusted people, set limits, and change their decisions through the proper process later.

Where a notary fits—and where a notary does not

A notary may be part of the execution process when a properly prepared document requests an eligible notarial act. The notary verifies identity, requires personal appearance, completes the requested lawful act, and makes the required notarial record.

A notary does not decide which medical, education, banking, travel, or legal document a family needs. A notary also does not explain the legal consequences of appointing a particular person, draft the document, or decide whether the document will accomplish the family’s goals.

Prepare the legal decisions with the appropriate professional first. Then, if the completed document requires notarization, bring the document, every required signer, current acceptable identification, and any required witnesses according to the document’s instructions. Wells Notary Service does not provide third-party witnesses.

The real goal is prepared independence

Turning 18 should not be framed as parents losing their children or young adults being left to handle everything alone. It is a transition from automatic parental involvement to support the young adult understands and chooses.

The best plan protects the young adult’s voice. It gives trusted people a lawful way to help when needed, keeps important information organized, and reduces confusion during an emergency. That is not taking away independence. It is helping the young adult enter independence prepared.

If a properly prepared document requires notarization, Wells Notary Service can help with an eligible in-person or remote notarial act. If your family still needs to decide which documents or legal authority are appropriate, consult the document recipient, healthcare provider, school, financial institution, or a qualified attorney first.

Related Wells resources

• Documents Hub
• Traveling With a Child
• Emergency Document Organization
• View Pricing