Calling All High School Grads…Let’s Teach You Some Important Legal Basics!
Congratulations, graduates! You have done it! YOU HAVE DONE IT! You have suffered through countless loss of privileges for breaking curfew, you’ve fought yourself out of overcrowded school parking lots after school every day, and you have struggled hard (yet successfully) to balance homework, sports, college applications and time with your boo. All in the name of attaining the title of “high school graduate.” And an esteemed title it is, indeed. Well done!!
And now you are heading off to college or starting a real job and you’ve therefore officially closed the Child Chapter and turned the page to Young Adult. And for that we celebrate you!! And how do we do that? We tell you to go register for the draft (if you have a Y chromosome) and hold you legally accountable for your actions without ever telling you what your legal responsibilities are. Awesome!!!
No, in all seriousness…being a grown up can actually be fun because you get to do all sorts of stuff you couldn’t do before. Like attending jury duty and fundraising galas. Kidding! Sort of. No, I’m kidding.
Now there is simply no way to tell you everything inside of your 30 second Gen Z attention span regarding what you need to know to keep your rear out of a legal sling but I can certainly give you a head start by relaying a few pointers now that you’re a bona fide adult. So here goes.
(1) Your Digs. Read your lease, read your lease, read your lease. It’s boring as all get out but you gotta read and understand your lease. Don’t be afraid of it. I want you to highlight the following parts and show them to your roommates:
o Term. How long is the term of your lease? Is it one year or month-to-month?
o Term Auto Renewal Provisions. Under many apartment leases the original term length automatically renews unless you give at least 30 days’ notice prior to the end of the previous term. So what this means is…if your lease runs from August 1 through July 31….you need to calendar a reminder in June about the fact that you need to give your landlord notice of the fact that you are going to want to move out by July 31st. If July 16th rolls around and you haven’t told your landlord you want to move out at the end of your lease…you have just signed up for another year. SNAP! So know how far in advance you need to communicate to your landlord your desire to move out.
o Security Deposit. This is just good to have highlighted. And when it comes time to get your security deposit back (provided you’ve taken good care of the place) look here.
o Monthly Rent. Obvious but it warrants highlighting.
o Repairs. Make sure you understand what you’re on the hook for repairing and what your landlord is obligated to take care of. (Hint: Generally speaking, you really shouldn’t be responsible for anything that breaks through no fault of your own.) BUT! If something does break and you pay to have it fixed (say…because your landlord won’t deal with it) THINK TWICE before deducting the costs of those repairs from your monthly rent check unless your landlord agrees in writing (an email or text is fine). You can only deduct out of pocket costs for fixing stuff if it’s for big things like…the toilet wasn’t working or there was no running water or the HVAC system stopped working. Otherwise you need to demand to be repaid by your landlord (rather than just unilaterally taking it out of your rent check.)
(2) Your Wheels. For the vast majority of you, your car (even if you didn’t purchase it) is your largest asset. So be nice to your ride!
In most states you have to put a shiny new registration sticker on your car every year or the fuzz will pull you over and give you a fat ticket. And in order to do that you have to provide proof that you’ve had your car inspected for that year. Go ahead and calendar 60 days before your registration is due (look at the current sticker on your car) as a reminder that you need to get your car inspected. And when that reminder pops up…actually go get your car inspected at one of the 6,873 places around you that does car inspections. Then when your notice comes in the mail that your registration is due all you need to do is send in proof of insurance and a check for about $70 bucks. The inspection fairy will have relayed to the registration people the fact that you got your car inspected already and that it’s therefore okay to send you your new registration sticker. That night you will find $5 under your pillow for gas money.
While you’re at it…go ahead and calendar reminders to get your oil changed when you should (usually every 3,000 to 5,000 miles or every 3 months…whichever comes first) and if something sounds weird or looks strange go get it checked out. FYI, your tires should not have metal mesh showing through the rubber. I speak from experience.
I know that new tires and oil changes are not cheap…but you’ll save thousands of dollars in massive overhauls if you spend a little along the way to keep her runnin’ like a top. There is no better feeling than having a car that is paid off AND in good shape.
(3) I Know You Think You’re Bullet Proof But You Still Need Powers of Attorney.
As soon as you turn 18, you may as well be 47 under the eyes of the law so you need to know what’s what. You’re an adult and your parents can’t just step in and call the shots for you if you’ve been in an accident. So you need to have some very basic documents in place naming them as your agents (or whomever else you prefer) to man your fort until you can get back to things.
o Durable Power of Attorney. This is a simple yet powerful form that gives your agents (your parents) the power to deal with your bank accounts (i.e., pay your rent) and otherwise represent you with regard to your money, your job, your property, etc. if you’re incapacitated.
o Medical Power of Attorney. This document allows your parents to make medical decisions for you in the event that you cannot communicate your own desires to your doctor.
(4) Your Dough.
Some of you will be working while going to school…and for that I applaud you. You will come out of college having more discipline, less debt and the greatest appreciation for your degree than most. Having a job both requires and enables you to do certain things.
o You’ll need to file a tax return. Between January 1st and April 15th of every year you’ll need to file a tax return with the IRS. This is actually astoundingly easy when you are an employee. There are very user friendly online software programs like TurboTax and H&R Block’s tax preparation software into which you just plug your information and attach what’s called a “W-2” or “1099.” Those documents are the IRS’s way of knowing what your income for the year was so that they know you have paid enough taxes. If you don’t file your tax return every year it’ll come back to bite ya.
o Start a retirement account and/or savings account and start contributing. Even if it’s $25 per month, start saving money. The amount is not important…it’s the habit that you want to form. Do a budget and figure out what amount you can set aside in a bank account each month and treat it like your utility bill. It’s non-negotiable. By the time you graduate from college you will have a nice little nest egg started! That souped up Trans Am will be yours.
o Get a credit card. Your parents just choked on their own saliva when I said that. But you need to start establishing good credit for when you want to buy a new car or even a little condo later. You need to establish the fact that you are capable of charging things like gas and groceries on a credit card and paying it back on time…as in paying it off every single month. If you don’t pay if off on time each month that’s a good way to establish bad credit…which is the opposite of the point here. Let me reiterate: one credit card…and you pay it off every single month. And if I hear of you using the cash advance feature I will come over there and pop you on the head.
(5) Other Non-Legal Stuff You Should Be Doing If You Want to Call Yourself a Self Respecting Adult
o Buy your own URL name. You might become famous one day and once that happens it will cost you an egregious sum of money to buy it from the guy that snapped it up.
o Read the news. And your social media feed does not count as “news.” You have a brain…so feed it! Read the headlines and bylines of CNN, the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, or some other reputable national news source and devote 30-45 minutes each day to catching up on current events. Knowing what is going on in the world will make you sound smart (because you are) at the occasional cocktail party which is another adult thing. It just makes you more attractive.
o Don’t be socially awkward on social media. Do not overdo it on the selfies, don’t provide TMI and my gosh, if you’re going to post something then make sure it’s interesting. And no ranting. Just be cool, okay? And you should know that there is a federal law that prohibits you from spending a total of more than 1.5 hours per day on all forms of social media combined. This translates to 13.5 hours per week. If you spend more than 13.5 hours per week on social media you will go to jail with a mandated sentence of one year for every hour you go over that week. Trust me. I am a lawyer and so I know these things.
o Dress up at work. If you dress like a pro then you will be treated as one. If you dress like you just rolled out of bed you’ll be treated as a youngster who’s not interested moving from chief bottle washer to The Boss(wo)man. So don’t look like a schlep!
o Register to vote. Seriously…just like there are thousands of people in Africa who would covet the remainder of your mom’s chicken casserole that you left on your plate last night there are just as many folks whose sole dream it is to be able to vote in a democratic election. You. Have. That. Right. So exercise the hell out of it! If you’re 18 stop what you’re doing and figure out how to get registered in your state.
And finally…GOOD LUCK. You’re the future!!!
