Disabled Child Turns 18

What Happens When Your Disabled Child Turns 18?

When your child is a minor, you make the majority of their decisions, if not all. But, when your child reaches 18 years old, they are an adult under the law. You no longer have the authority to manage or receive pertinent information about their decisions. This legal transition is often seen by parents as an important milestone. But what if your disabled child turns 18?

As parents, it’s a bittersweet moment when our children fly the coop and start spreading their wings in the adult world. However, when faced with a disabled child, this transition can be even more complex. Such children may require assistance with crucial financial and medical decision-making. The thought of potentially losing their support can be overwhelming for any parent. What will happen to them? How can you step back in and continue to care for them if needed?

Have Your Child Sign a Power of Attorney

Financial Power of Attorney

A financial power of attorney is a legal instrument that grants an individual of your child’s choice the authority to take financial decisions for them in case they are incapacitated and cannot make necessary decisions regarding their finances. It is also applicable if they are unavailable for any reason that prohibits them from communicating their intentions. This crucial document serves as a safeguard against any financial damages that may occur due to the inability of your child to handle their finances. Failure to have a financial power of attorney for your child exposes them to a risk of you having to go through legal procedures in court to obtain the power to manage their financial affairs.

It is important to note that even if your child authorizes you to act on their behalf, they still possess the capacity to make independent decisions, provided they are capable of doing so.

Medical Health Care Power of Attorney

A medical power of attorney allows your child to name a trusted agent who can make medical decisions on their behalf if they cannot make them for themselves or are unable to communicate their wishes to the relevant health care providers. This person is required, to the greatest extent possible, to make the decisions your child would have made had they been able to communicate those wishes. So long as your child is able to make and communicate their own medical decisions, they are allowed to do so. You would only be asked to step in in the event they were unable to make or communicate their wishes themselves.

While both of these documents will go a long way in helping you to continue providing for your child once they turn 18, your child has to have the required mental capacity to execute the documents. The specific requirements for determining capacity vary from state to state. It is important to note that your child’s inability to physically sign the documents does not automatically disqualify them from being able to put the documents into place. 

Although your child may be able to make some decisions for themselves today, if they have a degenerative condition, you do not want to wait until it is too late to have these documents prepared. As mentioned previously, these documents are meant to help your child when they are unable to make decisions for themselves. Your child will continue to maintain the right and the autonomy to make their own decisions until they are unable to do so.

What if Your Child Can’t Execute the Documents?

In the event that important decisions need to be made on behalf of your child, and they lack the cognitive capacity to grant financial or medical power of attorney, the court must intercede. This legal procedure can often become a protracted, economically draining and publicly exposed series of events.

When seeking guardianship of a child through legal action, you ask the court to give you the power to act on behalf of your disabled child. For some disabled children whose ability to make decisions is greatly impaired, this may not be a problem. But for others, this approach may be too far reaching.

Guardianship

The names of roles that may entitle you to seek appointments may differ from state to state. However, the role of a guardian (also known as a guardian of the person or conservator of the person) usually pertains to an individual who has the authorization to make critical life decisions for your child. Such decisions might relate to your child's place of residence, as well as the kind of medical care that they must receive to recover.

The conservator (sometimes referred to as guardian of the estate, guardian of the property, or conservator of the estate) is the person who is authorized to make financial decisions on behalf of your child.

As a guardian or conservator, you have broad authority to make all necessary decisions for your child. Your child may not make any decisions on their own.

Contact Us Today

If you have a disabled child who is approaching their 18th birthday, now is the time to start planning for their future. We are here to assist you and your child to take the steps needed to ensure that they are as well taken care of as adults as they were when they were children.