When a person turns 18, they are legally considered an adult and are presumed to have the capacity to make their own decisions, including entering into legal contracts, opening financial accounts, and making their own medical and educational choices independently.

     If a parent wants to retain their decision-making authority over their child and maintain access to the child's medical, educational, and financial records after the age of 18, then the parent may petition the court for a Continuing Tutorship. (A tutorship is also known as a guardianship in other states.)  

     A Continuing Tutorship must be filed after the child turns 15 and before they turn 18. To be approved for a Continuing Tutorship, the court requires documentation that the child has intellectual functioning less than 2/3 the functioning of an average student of the same age, usually evidenced through school records, such as an IEP (Individualized Education Plan), and written certification of approval from the local coroner.

     Once the child turns 18, a Continuing Tutorship is no longer an available option. At this point, the parent would have to petition the court for an Interdiction, which is a more complex, time-consuming, and costly legal process. It involves a full trial proceeding, the appointment of an attorney to represent the child, expert evaluations, witnesses, testimony, and cross-examinations.