The age of majority in the State of Florida is 18 years old. That means when your child turns 18, you lose all the powers and authority you have over that child as the natural parent regardless of whether that child still lives at home, is still attending high school, or is 100 percent dependent upon you. This means you no longer have the authority to consent to medical care or make any decisions on behalf of that child.
This could create significant problems if the child were to become incapacitated, however unlikely that may be. In order to avoid the worst case scenario, your adult child should execute a Health Care Surrogate in favor of his or her parent or parents, and possibly a financial Power of Attorney. This will allow the parent or parents to continue to provide the parental guidance and care in the event something should happen to their adult child. The cost of these documents is minor, but can be of tremendous benefit under certain circumstances. If the circumstances arise, and the documents aren’t in existence, then it’s too late to obtain them because an incapacitated person cannot create such documents.
Depending on your particular circumstances, there may be other legal documents or actions to take with regard to protecting the interest of an adult child. If you believe that I can be of service to you in this area, please do not hesitate to call me to discuss your particular situation.
