Appointing A legal Guardian

August 3, 2005 12:36 PM

My wife and I are going out of town for the weekend, away from our daughter together, for the first time. A friend suggested that we appoint a legal guardian for our daughter in the event that she had an emergency, or if my wife and I were killed together. Is this done in a Will, or seperate document? Any suggestions for on-line resources for these kinds of forms? Any helpful insights into this process?
posted by bluno to law & government (10 comments total)

i heard a commercial about this exact issue on armed forces radio this morning. what you need is "a special power of attorney." the commercial said to ask your base's legal office about it, so i don't think that will be much help to you.

i hope this gets started in the right direction, though.
posted by bryak at 12:46 PM on August 3, 2005

I was under the impression a hand written, notarized document signed by you and your wife would be sufficient to have her receive medical care without your direct consent. This worked when I was younger and when a fellow employee was out of town and his daughter fell out of a window and had to be airlifted to the closest hospital.

You will want to make other arrangements if you are worried about the both you dying (which you would want in place whether you were in town or not) - which would include a will.
posted by blackkar at 1:00 PM on August 3, 2005

It happened in Sacramento Kings' coach Rick Adelman's family. His wife's sister and her husband were killed in an accident. The Adelmans added the orphans to their family.
You might want to have your attorney add a directive to your wills* appointing a sister/brother/other relative as guardian until your child reaches majority.
*You do have wills, right?
posted by Cranberry at 1:57 PM on August 3, 2005

Most important is executing a notarized document authorizing medical treatment in an emergency--I am not sure this even needs to be notarized but it should be signed by both of you--IANAL--I do not believe you can actually name a guardian--you can indicate a prefernce, wish, directive--but only a court can actually appoint a guardian--children, unlike property, can not be assigned--my understanding is that the court actively considers a parents wish as long as it is reasonable and consistent with state laws-Have a good trip
posted by rmhsinc at 2:20 PM on August 3, 2005

For this trip I wouldn't worry too much. A note giving permission, especially if witnessed or even better notarized, would be awesome, but most hospitals won't ask too many questions about truly emergency care. For the long term you really need a will which includes powers of attorney etc. The most important part of a will for someone with children, and I can not emphasize this enough even if your estate size rivals Bill Gates, is who will take care of your kids should you die or be unable to care for them yourselves. If you have children you need a will if only for this issue alone.
posted by caddis at 3:24 PM on August 3, 2005

EMERGENCY MEDICAL AUTHORIZATION FORM
posted by LadyBonita at 3:59 PM on August 3, 2005

One more thing, a will is cheap. Most small law offices offer a basic will at a fixed price. I recommend using a lawyer, versus a will kit, as they can modify the document to fit your individual circumstances, and you know it will by done correctly. Do this for your kids; it is a great gift to them.
posted by caddis at 7:58 PM on August 3, 2005

A notarized emergency medical authorization form will suffice if your offspring has an emergency medical condition that requires immediate decision-making to treat properly and you are not available to give consent. Both parents dying in a simultaneous accident would depend on your will to specify who makes decisions for your child after your passing.

You don't have to appoint a legal guardian for emergency medical authorization, but it helps a lot if your authorization is notarized. Your will should be a separate issue.

IANAL or doctor. YMMV, etc., etc.
posted by kamikazegopher at 8:41 PM on August 3, 2005

When I was a kid my parents would always draft up a quick note saying whatever relatives were watching me that they were my legal guardian for the week. This wasn't notarized, or even typed up, just a quick thing they'd write down and sign and give to me to carry along on the trip.
posted by mathowie at 11:31 PM on August 3, 2005

Is it just me or wouldn't a simple chat with your close relatives take care of the issue. As long as everyone agrees to what you want, then it should go as smoothly as possible when you're gone. "Hey mom, hey dad. We want aunt Kelly to take care of little suzie if we die. We talked to the wife's family about it, and Kelly has agreed to it too."
posted by pwb503 at 6:24 PM on August 16, 2005