As your child becomes a legal adult at age 18 and prepares to embark on their life journey, it’s crucial to ensure that they have the proper legal documents in place. While this is a time of newfound independence, young adults still need essential documents to manage health, finances, and other vital matters. Parents should play an active role in ensuring their children have the necessary paperwork to navigate any emergencies or legal situations that may arise as their journey begins.
Here is a summary of the key legal documents young adults should have in place:
- Medical Documents and Authorizations - Health and well-being are always top priorities, especially when students leave home. The following medical documents are essential:
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- HIPAA Authorization Form: This document allows medical professionals to share your child’s health information with you in case of an emergency. It ensures that you can be kept informed about your child’s condition, even when they are away at college.
- Medical Power of Attorney: If your child cannot make medical decisions for themselves, a Medical Power of Attorney designates someone (typically a parent or guardian) to make healthcare decisions on their behalf. It is advisable to choose both a primary and backup agent.
- Living Will: A Living Will outlines your child’s wishes regarding end-of-life medical decisions if they are unable to communicate their preferences. Discussing these wishes with family members ahead of time helps avoid potential conflicts.
A Durable Power of Attorney (DPOA) is a legal instrument that grants a designated individual (the agent or attorney-in-fact) the authority to make financial or healthcare decisions on behalf of the principal.
Unlike a standard power of attorney, which becomes void if the principal becomes incapacitated, a DPOA remains in effect, ensuring continuity in the management of financial, legal, or medical affairs.
This document serves as a critical component of comprehensive estate and financial planning, providing a trusted individual with the ability to act in the principal’s best interests should they become unable to do so themselves.
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As we closed the year for 2024, we again experienced disparate returns from different asset classes. The nature of this market performance put into context the returns that were generated by broadly diversified investment strategies.
Once more the Mag 7 (Magnificent 7) made significant contributions to the S&P 500’s overall return. In 2023, 63% of the S&P 500 total return was generated by this small cohort. These same stocks contributed to 55% of the index’s return last year. Interestingly and somewhat ironically, many of these Mag 7 names are the “hyperscalers” that drove up the stock prices of their fellow brethren. Massive technology (Artificial Intelligence) investments made by Amazon, Apple, Alphabet (Google), Meta (Facebook), Tesla and Microsoft, helped drive the stratospheric returns generated by Nvidia (now a fellow Mag 7 stock).
What is clear is that the absence of exposure to these prominent (large/mega-cap) growth names generally lead to under-performance.
The question now is where do we go from here? Will we experience the third consecutive year of 20% growth for the S&P 500? Or have we pulled forward future returns and are now lined up for lower returns going forward?
To a large extent, only time and Washington will tell.
November 5th marked one of the most pivotal elections in recent memory. Donald J. Trump’s victory validated some, antagonized others, and left many puzzled about the next four years. These are the consequences of a fierce campaign cycle that featured lofty promises from both candidates.
Investors are now tasked with a nearly impossible question: What lies ahead?
The stock market stood flat in October as investors awaited the election. November then returned a whopping 5% thanks to a strong post-election rally. Some attribute this rally to Trump’s victory. Others feel the rally had more to do with the election’s conclusion than the result itself. As my October article noted, the stock market tends to rise over time regardless of which party holds office.
The Presidency is one of countless factors impacting markets, albeit an increasingly important one. Markets finished relatively flat in December following a pre-Christmas slide. The slide is largely attributed to concerns around interest rates, inflation, and trade policy in the new regime. The road ahead remains to be seen, but there is reason to believe uncertainty could persist.
While the future is impossible to predict, it can be useful to assess the information available today. Following are analysis of five key areas likely to impact American pocketbooks and investment accounts in the coming years.
