If you have kids who just graduated from high school and are heading to college this fall, or if you have adult kids who are already attending college, you have some important matters to address. Two necessary tasks are getting a medical power of attorney and a financial power of attorney for your child. In the case of an emergency, HIPAA guidelines prevent you from receiving medical information about your child without a medical power of attorney, nor can you make any decisions involving their care. A financial power of attorney would be necessary in this situation so you can deal with any financial aspects that may be involved if your child was under hospitalization or other forms of treatment.

In this segment from The Financial Physician, host Lou Scatigna, CFP® tells you how to go about getting a medical and financial power of attorney. Additionally, he also discusses various topics around inheritance and how you can control its distribution via trusts.