Estate Planning for Families with College-Age Kids: Why Move-In Season Is the Perfect Time to Update Your Plan
By Anjali Patel
Estate Planning for families with college-age kids
It’s that time of year again—Targets packed with dorm supplies, IKEA lines stretching around the block, and moving vans pulling into Tempe for ASU’s move-in weekend. For parents, this season is all about making sure your student is ready for independence—new bedding, laptops, and maybe a little advice about laundry.
But college move-in season is also the perfect reminder that your estate plan needs to keep pace with your family. Once your children turn 18, guardianship provisions in your will or trust are no longer necessary. Instead, planning shifts to protecting young adults financially while preparing them to handle the responsibility of inheritance.
Why Estate Planning Matters Once Kids Are Adults
At 18, your child is legally an adult. That means you no longer have automatic authority to make medical or financial decisions for them. And while they may be thriving at college, most young adults aren’t ready to manage significant assets or an inheritance outright.
Estate planning for this stage of life isn’t about guardianship—it’s about financial structure, timing, and safeguards. The goal is to make sure your children are supported, while also protecting them from receiving too much, too soon.
Trust Options That Work for Young Adults
Here are several tools parents can use to balance protection and independence:
1. Delayed Distributions
Instead of giving everything at 18 or 21, you can stagger distributions. For example: one-third at 25, another at 30, and the remainder at 35. This allows time for maturity and stability before larger sums are handed over.
2. HEMS Standard (Health, Education, Maintenance, Support)
Trustees can be directed to provide funds for essentials like tuition, rent, healthcare, and everyday living expenses. This ensures your child has what they need without unrestricted access.
3. Education-Specific Allocations
Some families set aside funds strictly for education—whether undergraduate, graduate, vocational, or even study-abroad programs.
4. Incentive Trusts
These tie distributions to achievements—such as completing a degree, maintaining employment, or staying substance-free. Incentive trusts can encourage responsibility, though they need to be carefully drafted to avoid unintended consequences.
5. Spendthrift Clauses
A spendthrift provision protects your child’s inheritance from creditors, divorces, or poor financial decisions. This is particularly valuable when children are just learning to manage money.
6. Emergency Access
Parents sometimes allow limited access to funds at an earlier age (such as 21) only for emergencies—like unexpected medical expenses—while keeping the bulk protected until later.
7. Co-Trustee Arrangements (“Training Wheels” Trusts)
One of the most effective teaching tools is allowing your child to serve as co-trustee of their own trust share once they reach a certain age. A trusted adult or professional fiduciary serves alongside them, giving oversight and veto power while the young adult learns how trusts are managed.
Over time, your child transitions to sole trustee—often at 30 or 35—once they’ve had real-world experience handling distributions, investments, and fiduciary responsibilities. This arrangement empowers them with practical knowledge while keeping safeguards in place.
Essential Legal Documents for College Students
Estate planning at this stage isn’t just about parents—it’s also about ensuring your young adult has the right documents in place:
Healthcare Power of Attorney + HIPAA Release
These give parents or trusted adults authority to make medical decisions and access records in an emergency. This includes mental health care, which is often overlooked but critical for college students.Financial Power of Attorney
Allows someone to step in and manage accounts, pay bills, or handle lease obligations if your student can’t.FERPA Release
Federal privacy laws restrict access to academic records—even for parents paying tuition. A FERPA release lets you access grades, enrollment information, and other important school records if needed.
Estate Planning Checklist for Parents of College-Age Kids
Update your trust—remove guardianship clauses, add adult-focused provisions.
Decide on distribution ages or milestones (25, 30, 35).
Add HEMS language to ensure funds are available for essentials.
Consider incentive or education-specific provisions.
Include spendthrift protection.
Allow for limited emergency access.
Evaluate a co-trustee arrangement to give young adults supervised responsibility.
Make sure each child has:
Healthcare Power of Attorney with HIPAA release (including mental health)
Financial Power of Attorney
FERPA release
Final Thoughts
College move-in season marks more than just a new chapter for your kids—it’s a turning point for your estate plan, too. As your children become adults, their needs shift. Guardianship language becomes outdated, and new provisions for financial support, structure, and independence take its place.
Updating your estate plan now ensures your young adult children are protected, prepared, and positioned for success—not just in college, but for the years ahead. For more information regarding estate planning or probate, visit our Estate Planning and Probate page by clicking on link.