Shelley Sodaro wrote this month’s Seasons of Life post. Shelley joined Freedom Day Solutions in 2023, with three decades of experience in investments, retirement plans, and insurance. When we were lucky enough to meet Shelley, she was trusted by many families and owned her own insurance agency. After learning a wide variety of skills over an incredible career, she wanted to focus exclusively on one thing – simply taking better care of people - with zero conflicts of interest or products to sell, which made Freedom Day Solutions a perfect home for her.
Shelley will share her objective insurance expertise with our partners, whenever they need anything at all – from the most sophisticated and complex cases to the simplest updates. Perhaps most valuable to our partners, she will proactively answer questions many of us didn’t even know to ask about planning through seasons of life, like this month’s topic we hope you enjoy. If you know somebody who would benefit from this content, please feel free to share.
As summer ends and fall approaches, with hopefully some much cooler temperatures, I am reminded from almost every direction that children are once again heading back to school. As parents take their kids for sports physicals and shopping for clothes, backpacks and school supplies, those with college aged young adults should also consider putting certain legal documents in place.
Here I am moving my daughter to Austin last month, right after she bought her brother a Longhorn hat (he's an Aggie)!
We can take for granted that our parental status will give us access and a voice to our children’s financial records and medical care. However, once they become full-fledged adults, at age eighteen, that voice will be silenced, and our access will be cut off without the proper attorney drafted documents in place. We all applaud privacy rules, such as Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), but some have never considered how those rights affect their ability to still parent their young adult children.
There are countless parents who have learned this lesson the hard way. We all fear the phone call that our child has an illness or has been in an accident of some kind. Imagine the horror of rushing to the hospital, only to find you cannot speak on behalf of your incapacitated child or have any input regarding their care because they are no longer a minor.
Whether your child is venturing off to a school far away or staying close to home, it is important to have the following legal documents in place after they turn eighteen so you can ensure they are protected.
· HIPAA Release Form
· Medical Power of Attorney
· Statutory Durable Power of Attorney
· FERPA Authorization Form
With proper planning, you will never have to experience that feeling of helplessness, and you can provide yourself with peace of mind as your child pursues their dreams. If you would like additional information, please let me know.
I am so delighted to be on the Freedom Day team serving you! They have quickly become an amazing family for me to be so excited to work with every day. I would love to visit with you and help in any way I can. Call or email, I look forward to meeting more of our incredible family of partners.
Shelley Sodaro
713.784.3878
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