Legal Documents Your Student Needs

What documents does Student Legal Services recommend?

Once your student turns 18, you may be surprised to learn that you may no longer have automatic access to help with their medical or financial matters—even in an emergency. That’s why we strongly recommend that students consider completing the following legal documents:

• Healthcare Power of Attorney: authorizes someone to make medical decisions if your student is unable to do so.
• Financial Power of Attorney: allows someone to manage financial matters on their behalf.
• Declaration for Mental Health Treatment: outlines preferences and authorizes treatment for specifically for mental health care.
• HIPAA Release: permits the release of protected health information to designated individuals.

These documents can be critical in the event of an accident, illness, or other emergency, and they ensure your student’s wishes are respected while also allowing trusted individuals to assist as needed.

Please, do not pay a third-party service to prepare these documents.  Ohio State students already have access to these services through Student Legal Services (SLS) at no additional cost beyond the annual SLS participation fee. The SLS fee is significantly lower than what you would pay for similar services online or through a private attorney.  Our licensed attorneys routinely assist students with drafting, explaining, and executing these documents in a way that is legally sound and tailored to their needs.

How does it work? 

• Your student will schedule a phone appointment with a SLS attorney (note: incoming Freshmen can schedule in the summer before they start).  
• Students can schedule the appointment online or by calling SLS at (614) 247-5853.
• SLS will email your student with an appointment reminder. 
• For information about the documents, your student can watch this pre-appointment video. 
• A SLS attorney will conduct the phone appointment with your student at the time scheduled. 
• Parents may be on the phone as well with the student’s permission.  Your student can indicate when they schedule online if they want you to be added to the call, or they can ask the attorney to add a parent(s) when the attorney calls for the appointment. 
• During the phone appointment, your student will decide which documents they want and provide necessary information. 
• After the appointment, SLS staff will draft the documents and email them to your student to review. 
• Once your student approves the documents, SLS will schedule a time for your student to come to our office to sign the documents, or if preferred, will get instructions on signing the documents elsewhere.
• SLS will provide both physical and electronic copies of the documents if the student signs them in our office.
• Parents do not need to be present for the signing. 

What should students do with their documents? 

We recommend that students living on campus keep a copy of their Healthcare Power of Attorney (HPOA) in a secure but accessible location within their residence hall room. They should inform their roommate, resident advisor, and hall director that they have an HPOA and where it is stored. Students should also notify any close friends or trusted individuals who may be with them in the event the document needs to be used.

Students and their agents should keep the electronic copy of their documents where they can easily be found.  We recommend creating a specific folder in your email account for the documents. 

Students are also encouraged to ensure their phone’s medical ID is updated with accurate emergency contact information.  Instructions for updating this information are available for both Android and Apple.  In addition, we advise students to carry a card in their wallet stating that they have a Healthcare Power of Attorney. The card should include the names and contact information of their appointed agents and indicate where the document is stored. Both the student and their agents should keep an electronic copy of the HPOA on their phones for quick access.

Additionally, Student Health Services provides information about how to access student health records.