The Paperwork Gap Most Georgia Parents Don't Know They Have
Here's a scenario most parents have thought about at least once, even if they never did anything about it: you're in the hospital for a few days deployed, or just traveling– who’s actually allowed to take care of your kids when you can’t? Imagine your mom or your sister has your kids, but when she tries to pick them up from school, or take them to the pediatrician, she's told she can't. Afterall, legally, she has no authority to act for them.
That gap between "the person you trust is right there" and "the person you trust is legally allowed to act" is exactly what a Power of Attorney for the Care of a Minor Child is built to close. It's one of the most practical, and most overlooked, pieces of planning a Georgia family can do.
What Does a Power of Attorney for the Care of a Minor Child Actually Do
Under Georgia law, you can name a trusted adult — a grandparent, aunt or uncle, sibling, stepparent, or another approved caregiver — to step in and handle the everyday and not-so-everyday decisions your kids need someone to make when you’re not around. That includes:
Enrolling your child in school, getting access to school records, picking up your child at the end of the day
Consenting to medical, dental, and mental health care, and being able to see and manage treatment records
Making the day-to-day calls — where they sleep, what activities they're in, travel, and general care
Some practical things to keep in mind:
The person you name has to be an adult Georgia resident
If you name a non-relative (a nanny, a close friend, etc.), Georgia law requires a criminal background check first. If they are a relative, that check is optional.
The document is good for up to a year (a bit longer in some military situations),
This document must be signed under oath, notarized, and filed with the probate court in your child's county within ten days
Most importantly, none of this transfers custody or touches your parental rights. You're still fully in charge, and you can revoke it whenever you want.
When Families Actually Reach for This
This tends to come up more often than people expect:
A parent deploying, or traveling for work for weeks or months at a time
Grandparents or nannies who are the ones doing most of the day-to-day care
A parent facing surgery, a hospital stay, or an illness where they want someone else to have authority in the meantime
Blended families where a stepparent needs to be recognized, not just present
Just wanting your bigger estate plan to actually cover your kids' day-to-day world, not only what happens to your assets
Getting Ahead of It
The honest truth is that most families only think about this after something's already gone wrong, maybe after the school says no, or the doctor's office won't talk to grandma, or a hospital stay turns into a scramble to figure out who's "allowed" to help. It doesn't have to be that way. At Bequest, this is exactly the kind of planning we help families put in place. If you'd like to talk through what makes sense for your family, set up a schedule a free consultation with a Bequest attorney by submitting an inquiry form on the main page of our website (https://www.bequest.law), giving us a call at 404.500.7531, or emailing us at hello@bequest.law.