Michigan: your 18-year-old’s paperwork

What this covers: how a Michigan student signs the four Covered18 documents (health care directive, financial power of attorney, HIPAA release, FERPA consent) and what to do afterward. It does not say which choices are right for your family.

0. Before you start

• Age: Michigan: a person 18 or older is an adult of legal age (MCL 722.52). A patient advocate designation can be made by a person 18 or older of sound mind (MCL 700.5506). Sign on or after the 18th birthday.
• Talk with the person you plan to name (and a backup) before anything is printed. They need to agree and know where the papers will be.
• Schools, hospitals and banks sometimes ask for their own forms. Ask the school's registrar and student health center what they accept.
• If any item below says UNVERIFIED, confirm it with the notary, the state source, or a lawyer before relying on it.

1. Health care directive

Patient advocate designation: acceptance statements and fill-in guide (Michigan)
No form text reproduced. Michigan has NO statutory short form for the patient advocate designation. The State publishes an official form (MDHHS DCH-3916, 06/15). Covered18 does not copy that agency form; use it directly. The advocate's acceptance must contain the statements in MCL 700.5507(5), reproduced verbatim below.

• Two witnesses must be present and sign (MCL 700.5506(4)). No notary alternative.
• Barred witnesses: the patient's spouse, parent, child, grandchild, sibling, presumptive heir, known devisee, physician, or the patient advocate; employees of the patient's life or health insurer, treating facility, home for the aged, or a mental-health program/hospital.
• The advocate signs an acceptance before acting (MCL 700.5507(4)-(5)).
• Remote witnessing: the 2020-2021 rule (MCL 700.1202) applied only to documents executed from 2020-04-30 through 2021-06-30. Treat as not allowed.

2. Financial power of attorney

Michigan Statutory Form Power of Attorney
Statutory form text reproduced verbatim from the official source (see Sources). Optional statutory form, MCL 556.401. If the power is durable, the agent must also sign the Agent's Acknowledgment (MCL 556.402), included here as a separate document.

• Principal signs (MCL 556.205(1)).
• To be durable: acknowledge before a notary, or sign in the presence of two witnesses who also sign (neither can be the agent); a notary may be one of the two (MCL 556.205(2)).
• A notarized signature is presumed genuine (§556.205(4)).
• The agent signs the Agent's Acknowledgment before acting (MCL 556.402).

Watch for: - Durability: the form is durable only if signed before a notary (or other officer who takes acknowledgments) or in front of two witnesses who are not the agent or successor agent (MCL 556.205). - The agent must sign the Agent's Acknowledgment before acting (see the separate file). - Gifts and other special powers require initials; leave blank if unsure.

3. HIPAA authorization and FERPA consent

• The HIPAA release and FERPA consent are separate papers built from the federal required elements (45 CFR 164.508; 34 CFR 99.30). The student signs and dates each. Neither gives anyone the power to make decisions; they only allow information to be shared.
• Notarization is not required by the federal rules. Some schools and providers want their own form; ask first.
• Michigan Mental Health Code confidentiality rules (MCL 330.1748 and related) were not researched. UNVERIFIED.
• Ask the registrar and student health center which forms they accept.

4. Remote (online) options

Question	What we found
Remote notarization	Michigan allows notarial acts through approved remote electronic notarization platforms (MCL 55.286b); the 2020-2021 temporary audio-video rule (MCL 55.286c) has expired. Which platforms are approved today, and whether the notary or platform handles a POA from a signer outside Michigan: UNVERIFIED.
Remote witnessing	No current authority found. Treat as not allowed.

If the table says UNVERIFIED, plan on signing in person. See the notary options page for online notary services and their public prices.

5. If the student is signing from another state

• Financial POA from another state: valid in Michigan if its execution complied with the law of the jurisdiction determining its meaning and effect or the principal's domicile (MCL 556.206(2)).
• Health care: I found no express Michigan clause recognizing another state's directive; UNVERIFIED.

Banks and hospitals decide for themselves what they accept. Whether yours accepts an out-of-state document is UNVERIFIED.

6. Stop and ask a lawyer if

• The patient advocate has not agreed to serve or will not sign the acceptance.
• Anything in your situation does not match this guide (for example guardianship, a disability, or a business interest).

7. Checklist to bring to the notary

• ☐ Government photo ID that is current (the notary will check it against the name on the papers).
• ☐ The documents, printed, unsigned. Do not sign ahead of time.
• ☐ Every person who must be present: the student, any witnesses (see Section 1 and 2), and the notary.
• ☐ Names, addresses and phone numbers for the agent(s) and backups.
• ☐ A black-ink pen. Print the HIPAA release and FERPA consent on their own pages.
• ☐ Ask the notary what the fee is before the appointment. Notary fees are not included in Covered18's price.
• ☐ Do not bring the agent as a witness unless the state section above says it is allowed.

8. After signing

• Make copies. Give a copy to the agent, the backup agent, the student's doctor or campus health center, and the bank if the financial document is meant to be used there. Keep the original somewhere safe and tell people where.
• Keep a scan in a place the agent can reach.
• Review once a year and after any big change (new school, move, relationship change). The HIPAA release has its own expiry date; set a reminder.
• If the student wants to change or cancel a document, ask the notary or a lawyer how to do that in your state.

9. UNVERIFIED items

• Currency of form DCH-3916 (06/15) against the 2020 and 2024 amendments to MCL 700.5506-.5507.
• Whether Michigan recognizes another state's health care directive.
• Which remote notarization platforms are approved.
• Michigan mental-health record rules (MCL 330.1748 and related); two sections were saved but not summarized.