AB 495 California: Who Qualifies as a Relative Caregiver?

Why the Relative Definition Matters

The Caregiver's Authorization Affidavit splits authority into two tiers depending on one question: are you a statutory relative? If you are, completing Items 5–8 of the affidavit gives you the same authority to consent to routine medical and dental care as a court-appointed probate guardian under Probate Code Section 2353. If you are not, you are limited to Items 1–4 — school enrollment and school-related medical care only.

That gap is enormous in practice. A non-relative caregiver can get a child into school and authorize sports physicals, but they cannot consent to a pediatric appointment, a dental filling, or a prescription based on the affidavit alone. For that, a parent, legal guardian, or relative caregiver authorized under Family Code Section 6550 can give them a written authorization under Section 6910, or the caregiver can seek a formal court order.

What AB 495 Changed

Assembly Bill 495 expanded the definition of "qualified relative" under Family Code Section 6550(h)(2) to include anyone related to the child by blood, adoption, or affinity within the fifth degree of kinship.

Before AB 495, the statutory list was narrower. The expansion brought more distant relatives such as great-great-aunts within the statutory fifth-degree limit. First cousins are within four degrees, while second cousins are six degrees apart and outside it.

Who Qualifies Now

Under current law, the following relationships qualify:

• Grandparents and great-grandparents
• Aunts and uncles (by blood, marriage, or adoption)
• Adult siblings
• Adult nieces and nephews
• Stepparents
• First cousins, great-aunts and great-uncles, and great-great-aunts and great-great-uncles
• Spouses of any qualified relative — even if the marriage ended through death or divorce

The "by marriage" provision is especially important for blended families. If you are a step-grandmother whose marriage to the child's grandfather ended when he passed away, you still qualify as a statutory relative.

Who Does Not Qualify

Family friends, godparents, cohabitating partners, and neighbors are classified as non-relative caregivers regardless of how close the relationship is in practice. The law draws the line at legal or biological connection within five degrees.

Non-relative caregivers are not without options. Items 1–4 of the affidavit still cover school enrollment and school-related medical care. For broader medical consent, a parent, legal guardian, or relative caregiver authorized under Section 6550 can sign a private medical delegation under Family Code Section 6910 naming you as the authorized caregiver. If none of those authorized signers is available, a probate guardianship is typically the next step.

How to Count Degrees of Relationship

Counting degrees of consanguinity means counting each generation up to the nearest common ancestor and back down to the relative. Parent to child is one degree. Grandparent to grandchild is two degrees. First cousins are four degrees apart (up two generations to the shared grandparent, then down two); second cousins are six degrees apart and do not qualify under the fifth-degree limit.

When in doubt, check the box on Item 5 and specify your exact relationship. The affidavit is signed under penalty of perjury, so accuracy matters, but the expanded definition catches most extended family members who serve as kinship caregivers.

What to Do Next

If you qualify as a relative caregiver, the full Items 1–8 affidavit is your most powerful tool — it covers school enrollment, medical consent, and daily educational management without any court involvement. Our California school and medical consent guide walks through each item, explains the parental notification requirements in Items 6a and 6b, and includes the escalation tools you need if a school or clinic questions your authority.

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