Power of Attorney for a Minor Child in California

What It Is

A power of attorney for a minor child in California isn't one single document — it's a concept that maps to different legal instruments depending on what authority you need and who can sign.

The most common use case: a parent is going to be temporarily unavailable (travel, rehab, military deployment, hospitalization) and wants to designate someone to make school and medical decisions for their child while they're away.

Family Code Section 6910: Medical Delegation

This is the closest thing California has to a "minor power of attorney" for healthcare. Under Section 6910, a parent, legal guardian or qualifying relative caregiver can execute a written authorization permitting another adult to consent to medical or dental care for the child.

Key features:

• Signed by a parent, legal guardian, or qualifying relative caregiver authorized under Section 6550, not by the person receiving authority
• Scope is defined in writing — the parent specifies exactly what medical decisions the authorized person can make
• Duration is defined in writing — the parent sets the start and end dates
• No court filing required — it's a private document between the parent and the authorized caregiver
• Revocable — the parent can withdraw authorization in writing at any time

This works well when a parent is cooperative and accessible — they're going on a business trip, entering a treatment program, or deploying with the military. The parent signs the authorization before they leave, and the caregiver presents it at the doctor's office.

When Section 6910 Won't Work

The medical delegation under Section 6910 requires a signature from a parent, legal guardian, or relative caregiver authorized under Section 6550. If none of those authorized people is available to sign because they are:

• Incarcerated and unreachable
• Missing with no forwarding address
• Deceased
• Refusing to cooperate

...then a Section 6910 delegation isn't possible. In these situations, the Caregiver's Authorization Affidavit is the better tool — it's signed by the caregiver alone and doesn't require a parent's signature. For a relative, the affidavit provides the same scope of routine medical authority. For a non-relative, the affidavit only covers school-related care, and the remaining gap may require probate guardianship.

No General "Custody Power of Attorney"

California does not have a general non-court parental power of attorney statute for minor custody. A general power of attorney does not replace legal custody or create the specific medical authority described in Family Code Section 6910.

For a non-court medical authorization, use the California-specific route in Family Code Section 6910 rather than assuming an online "minor power of attorney" or "temporary custody POA" template transfers custody.

The Better Options

For most kinship situations in California, one of these two tools is what you actually need:

Caregiver's Authorization Affidavit (Family Code §§ 6550–6552): Best when the parent is absent or unreachable. Signed by the caregiver. A relative gets full routine medical authority; a non-relative gets school-related authority. Free, no court filing, no notary.

Family Code § 6910 Medical Delegation: Best when a parent, legal guardian, or relative caregiver authorized under Section 6550 can authorize another caregiver. Scope and duration are customizable in writing. Free, no court filing.

Probate Guardianship (Probate Code § 1500 et seq.): Best when you need full legal authority and the parent can't or won't cooperate, or when you need stability that can't be overridden by a parent showing up. Requires a court petition. In most counties, filing for guardianship of the person costs $225, with investigation and other fees added; a few counties charge $35–$50 more for filing.

A Common Mix-Up

People searching for a "power of attorney for a minor child" often don't realize they're looking for the Caregiver's Authorization Affidavit. The affidavit sounds more limited than it is — for a relative, it provides the same medical consent authority as a court-appointed guardian.

The practical difference: a POA is signed by the parent delegating authority outward. The affidavit is signed by the caregiver claiming authority inward. Both are non-court instruments, but they work in different directions and are available in different circumstances.

Next Steps

Figure out which instrument fits your situation — parent available or not, relative or non-relative, temporary or long-term — and start there. The California School and Medical Consent Guide includes a decision flowchart that walks through these options and explains when each one applies.

See more California guides →