Montana Kinship Care Forms — Caretaker Relative Forms Explained

You need the paperwork to get your grandchild into school and to a doctor, and every search brings up a different form name. Montana does not distribute a single kinship care forms packet through a state agency — the forms are embedded directly in the statute text, which is why they're so hard to find.

The Three Core Documents

Montana kinship caregivers typically need some combination of three instruments:

Educational Authorization Affidavit (MCA 20-5-503). The exact form language is published in subsection (9) of the statute. It authorizes school enrollment, access to educational records, and day-to-day school decisions. Available to relatives by blood, marriage, or adoption — not to non-relative family friends.

Medical Authorization Affidavit (MCA 40-6-502). The form is in subsection (9) of this statute. It covers routine health care, immunizations, dental visits, prescriptions, and outpatient mental health counseling. Same eligibility rules as the educational affidavit — relatives only.

Minor Power of Attorney (MCA 72-5-103). Unlike the affidavits, this requires a parent's or guardian's signature and can delegate care, custody, or property powers to any adult, including non-relatives, for up to six months.

Where the Forms Come From

Montana does not issue downloadable PDF forms through DPHHS or OPI for these affidavits. The legal templates are printed verbatim in the Montana Code Annotated — MCA 20-5-503(9) and MCA 40-6-502(9). Under both statutes, an affidavit is legally invalid unless it is written substantially in the statutory form and includes the specified warning about criminal penalties for false swearing. The statutes require capital letters for the warning, but do not require bold type.

You can find the raw statutory text at mca.legmt.gov, but it is dense legal code without fillable fields or execution instructions.

Which Form for Your Situation

The right document depends on two questions: Is a parent or guardian available to sign? And are you related to the child by blood, marriage, or adoption?

If you are a relative, use the two caretaker affidavits only when their statutory conditions are met. Both require that a parent voluntarily left the child with you without a definite return time, the child lives with you full-time, and no adequate provision exists for the relevant care. For school enrollment under MCA 20-5-502, you must also be unable to contact either parent or a parent you can contact must be unable or unwilling to regain custody. The medical affidavit requires that you be unable to contact the parent or that the parent refuse a written request to regain custody. You sign both before a notary; the parent does not sign.

If a parent or guardian is available and willing, a minor power of attorney may be simpler. The parent or guardian signs it, delegating authority to you for up to six months. This works for both relatives and non-relatives.

If you are a non-relative (a family friend, coach, or neighbor) and no parent or guardian is available to sign a power of attorney, the caretaker-relative affidavits are not available to you. The remaining option is formal court guardianship under MCA Title 72, Chapter 5, Part 2.

Why Generic Templates Get Rejected

Marketplace templates sold online — typically labeled "minor medical consent form" or "temporary custody agreement" — often lack the statutory warning language Montana law requires. MCA 20-5-503(9) and MCA 40-6-502(9) specify warning language that must appear on the form. Without it, a school registrar or clinic risk management office may refuse to accept the document.

The Montana Kinship Navigator Program (1-833-445-3395) and the Montana Legal Services Association (1-800-666-6899) can also help you locate the correct forms if you're having trouble.

Our Montana School & Medical Consent guide includes pre-formatted versions of all three instruments with the required statutory language, fillable fields, and step-by-step completion instructions.

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