Traveling without the kids? Make sure to name legal guardians for them - Parental Power of Attorney

If you are a parent of minor children and you are heading out of town without your little ones in tow, it is important to make sure the person staying behind with your children has the legal authority to make decisions for them while you are away.  

To do this, you should execute a Parental Power of Attorney, sometimes called a Power of Attorney for Minor Child or Delegation of Parental Powers, which is used to give a trusted and willing person (an “Agent”) power to act in the place of the parent or guardian.  This Power of Attorney must be signed by you, witnessed by a disinterested witness (i.e. someone who is not related to you by blood or marriage, or named as the Agent, and who is at least 18 years old), and notarized.

The Parental Power of Attorney should contain the full legal name and date of birth for each child, the full legal name and address of the Agent, a statement regarding the parental responsibilities being delegated (i.e. medical decision-making), and a statement regarding duration of the Power of Attorney.

The Parental Power of Attorney becomes effective when it is signed by you and the witness in front of the notary.  It is valid until the date stated in the document or for a maximum of 6 months, unless it is revoked by you at an earlier date. 

The Parental Power of Attorney does not need to be recorded or filed with the Court.  However, you should provide an original of the executed Power of Attorney to each person named as an Agent in the document.  The caregiver will be able to use the Parental Power of Attorney to act on your behalf to take care of and make decisions for your children while you are away.

*An article I wrote on this topic first appeared in the Arizona Republic on June 14, 2016. HERE is a link to the online version of the article.