When to Use an Authorization to Consent to Health Care for a Minor

• If one or both custodial parents---parents who have custody of a child---are often away from home for short or long periods of time, it might be a good idea to sign a medical power of attorney. Military families often use this document to delegate the power to make medical decisions for the children in their care to a family member, but it may also be a good idea for a parent who travels a lot for work to designate a regular babysitter or day care provider with the authority to make medical decisions for a child.
  
  

What Does the Power of Attorney Cover?

• The agent is authorized to decide what kind of health care or medical treatment is to be administered and to prolong a child's life in the absence of a custodial parent. The agent also has access to a child's medical records. This power of attorney does not authorize an agent to terminate life support, food, hydration systems or other life-sustaining procedures.
  
  

Requirements

• This document applies only to minors. Legally, a minor is a child that has not yet attained full legal age, generally 18 years old. Exceptions to this may include minors who are married or divorced, emancipated minors---those who are independent of parental control---or those who are on active duty with the U.S. military. A parent must sign the document in the presence of a notary public.
  
  

Duration

• A durable power of attorney "remains in effect during the grantor's incompetency." A grantor may designate an end date to the power of attorney, such as the date of return for a military parent. These types of powers of attorney automatically expire once the minor reaches the age of 18. The parent who signed the power of attorney retains the right to revoke it at any time. If the parent who signed the power of attorney loses his parental rights, the document is revoked.
  
  

Benefits

• A power of attorney gives an absent parent peace of mind when she cannot be present to care for her children. It ensures that someone the parent knows and trusts and that the child knows and trusts will consent to or decline medical care.