Texas has a very cool law to help parents arrange for relatives to care for their children. A Parental Authorization Agreement may be given by a parent to his child’s grandparent, adult sibling, or adult aunt or uncle. It authorizes the relative to “care” for the child in certain matters, such as procuring health insurance, authorizing medical procedures, enrolling the child in school, etc.
Regarding the relative, the Agreement must contain the name and signature of the relative, the relative’s relationship to the child and the relative’s current physical address and telephone number or the best way to contact the relative.
Regarding the parents, the Agreement must contain the name and signature of the parents, the parents’ current address and telephone number or the best way to contact the parents.
The Agreement must also contain:
a statement that the relative has been given authorization to perform the functions listed in Section 34.002(a) (or specific function listed out, such as consenting to medical treatment) as a result of a voluntary action of the parent and that the relative has voluntarily assumed the responsibility of performing those functions; and
a statement that neither the parent nor the relative has knowledge that a parent, guardian, custodian, licensed child-placing agency, or other authorized agency asserts any claim or authority inconsistent with the authorization agreement under this chapter with regard to actual physical possession or care, custody, or control of the child; and
statements that to the best of the parent’s and relative’s knowledge, there is no court order or pending suit affecting the parent-child relationship concerning the child, there is no pending litigation in any court concerning custody, possession, or placement of the child or access to or visitation with the child, and that a court does not have continuing jurisdiction concerning the child (or the court with continuing jurisdiction concerning the child has given written approval for the execution of the authorization agreement and including the county in which the court is located, the number of the court, and the cause number in which the order was issued or the litigation is pending), a statement that to the best of the parent’s and relative’s knowledge there is no current, valid authorization agreement regarding the child, a statement that the authorization is made in conformance with this chapter, a statement that the parent and the relative understand that each party to the authorization agreement is required by law to immediately provide to each other party information regarding any change in the party’s address or contact information, a statement by the parent that establishes the circumstances under which the authorization agreement expires, including that the authorization agreement is valid until revoked (or continues in effect after the death or during any incapacity of the parent, or expires on a date stated in the authorization agreement), and space for the signature and seal of a notary public.
The authorization agreement must also contain warnings and disclosures that the authorization agreement is an important legal document, that the parent and the relative must read all of the warnings and disclosures before signing the authorization agreement, that the persons signing the authorization agreement are not required to consult an attorney but are advised to do so, that the parent’s rights as a parent may be adversely affected by placing or leaving the parent’s child with another person, that the authorization agreement does not confer on the relative the rights of a managing or possessory conservator or legal guardian, that a parent who is a party to the authorization agreement may terminate the authorization agreement and resume custody, possession, care, and control of the child on demand and that at any time the parent may request the return of the child, that failure by the relative to return the child to the parent immediately on request may have criminal and civil consequences, that, under other applicable law, the relative may be liable for certain expenses relating to the child in the relative’s care but that the parent still retains the parental obligation to support the child, that, in certain circumstances, the authorization agreement may not be entered into without written permission of the court, that the authorization agreement may be terminated by certain court orders affecting the child, that the authorization agreement does not supersede, invalidate, or terminate any prior authorization agreement regarding the child, that the authorization agreement is void if a prior authorization agreement regarding the child is in effect and has not expired or been terminated, and that the authorization agreement is void unless certain actions have been taken (these actions are set out in the statute).
Finally, the agreement must disclose that it does not confer on a relative of the child the right to authorize the performance of an abortion on the child or the administration of emergency contraception to the child.
The law contains some fine print, so we suggest that you have a lawyer draft the Agreement. The lawyers at Hammerle Finley Law Firm would be happy to discuss how we can help you.
