Actually, it’s a gift for the entire family, because once the child reaches legal age, parents will no longer be able to automatically make medical and legal decisions for him or her without the appropriate legal documents authorizing them to do so. If an adult child becomes ill or injured and cannot handle his own financial affairs, no one, not even Mom or Dad, will be able to step in and conduct business (sign checks, sell assets, etc.) unless he has a trust or a durable power of attorney and has named them as his successor or agent. If he hasn’t, they will have to go through the courts.... and that will take time, cost money, and restrict them in ways you cannot imagine.
If an adult child cannot make his own medical decisions, it will be much easier for Mom, Dad or another adult to make decisions if he has a medical power of attorney that names them as his agent. And what if he is placed on life support before they can get to the hospital? Unless he has made his wishes known through a legal document, they may not be able to have life support discontinued without court approval.
Finally, if your new adult should die without a will, the court will distribute his assets according o the laws of the state in which he lived . . . regardless of what the family or he would have wanted.
Make sure your new adult understands these documents will need to be changed as life changes-as s/he accumulates more assets, and as s/he and those s/he cares about move, marry, have children, divorce, die and so on.
Helping your children or grandchildren get started with this adult responsibility at the moment when he or she becomes an adult is just one more responsibility we as parents and grandparents have. It fits right in there with how to balance a checkbook, how to manage credit, and how to buy insurance.
Chances are, it will be a long time before any of these documents will be needed, but you’ll be sending your new adult out of the newest with a full layer of protection... just in case.
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