Tis the season.  The annual rite of passage of turning 18 and graduating is upon us. Fun. Sun. Graduation Parties.

I know it personally. Our amazing daughter Lily turned 18 in February, graduated from high school this week, and is headed to college in September. While we were preparing to celebrate all of the accomplishments, excitement and opportunities, a wise legally-trained friend asked an astute question:

“So, has Lily signed a health care power of attorney and a HIPAA consent form?”

I said, “no. Why?”

“While Lily will always be your child,” my friend responded, “she’s now an adult. So if, God forbid, anything happens to her now or while she’s away at college, you won’t be able to talk to any doctors or anyone else about her health care and legal matters.  You better get that done.”

Thanks to his reminders, we were well prepared for Lily’s birthday with a few legal presents for her newly, legally-adult mind to consider.

The point: if your children or grandchildren are graduating from high school or have recently turned 18, one of the best gifts you can give them is sharing this little bit of legal advice.

My next step: Before she leaves for college, I will make sure our daughter executes a will, pour-over trust, durable power of attorney, and health care directive. I hope it’s decades before any of this is relevant to her, but it’s a great first step to adulthood.

If you need help in getting these items checked off of your list, please give us a call. We’ll connect you with one of our strategic legal partners.

We want to make sure you catch some of our shorter bits throughout the month on social media. To that end, here’s the sampling from the past month. We think you’ll enjoy the shot of our newest Larry Swedroe fan, caught in action.

We’re always on the lookout for financial tools that assist in bringing simplicity and transparency to our lives and Mint.com stands out as one worth sharing. Their cloud-based platform provides a summary of your financial situation by consolidating everything: credit cards, bank accounts, investment accounts, loans/mortgages, and more. Whether you’re comfortable viewing your information on a desktop computer or a smartphone, both interfaces allow for total visibility. With just a few clicks, Mint.com’s balance summary appears alongside any goals or budgets you’ve defined. Best of all, their service is free. Take a look, and let us know what you think.