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Your child’s caregiver is taking your child to the doctor or dentist in your absence You know you will be hard to reach while you are gone You may also want to consider preparing a DPA when you are leaving your child in a non-parent’s care under any of these circumstances: In other words, even if there is a DPA, if you are present to make decisions for your child, the caregiver does not have the right to interfere.Ī DPA is often used when parents go on a trip without their children or when a parent is deployed in the armed forces. The DPA only gives the caregiver this power while you are gone. When you are away, a DPA gives your child’s caregiver the legal power to make decisions for your child that normally would be made only by you or your child’s other parent. To learn more about the difference between DPAs and guardianship, read the “Should I Consider Guardianship for My Child?” section at the end of this article. Creating a DPA allows you choose the person who will care for your child, and lowers the chance that someone can get a guardianship over your child without your permission. Once a guardianship is in place, ending or changing it will mean going to court and getting a judge to agree. Guardianships always involve going to court. You are in control over the terms of a DPA, and you do not need to go to court to end or change it. This becomes more likely the longer you are away from your child. If you leave your child with someone who is not their parent and do not sign a DPA, that person may be able to go to court to get guardianship over your child. You must have legal custody (sole or joint) to use a DPA. As a parent, you can use a legal document called a Delegation of Parental Authority (DPA) to give another person temporary power to make decisions for your child when you are away. This is especially important for decisions involving medical care. When a parent leaves their child in someone else’s care, it is often a good idea to transfer their parental powers to the child’s caregiver on a short-term basis. When Should I Consider Using a Delegation of Parental Authority?Īs a parent, you have the legal power to do the following things for your child:ĭecide where and when your child goes to the doctorĬonsent to medical treatment for your childĭecide where your child will go to schoolĪnyone who is not your child’s parent cannot do these things unless there is a valid legal document or court order giving these powers to them. To do this, you can prepare a Delegation of Parental Authority. If you are going on a trip or will be difficult to reach for any reason, it is important to give your child’s caregiver temporary legal power to make decisions for your child. Sometimes you may need to leave your child with a non-parent.