Probate Code 2353 and Family Code 6910: California Medical Consent Beyond the Affidavit

Two Statutes That Expand What the Affidavit Can Do

Most California kinship caregivers start with the Caregiver's Authorization Affidavit — and for many, it's all they'll ever need. But two specific statutes sit behind the affidavit and extend medical consent authority in ways that matter when the basic form isn't enough.

Probate Code Section 2353 sets a guardian's authority to consent to medical treatment, including a special rule for surgery when the ward is 14 or older. Family Code Section 6910 lets a parent, guardian, or relative caregiver authorized under the affidavit give another adult written authorization to consent to medical or dental care.

Probate Code 2353: The Authority Behind Items 5–8

When a qualified relative completes all eight items of the Caregiver's Authorization Affidavit, Family Code Section 6550 gives them the same rights to authorize medical and dental care as a probate guardian under Probate Code Section 2353. This isn't decorative language — it defines the scope of what you're actually authorized to consent to.

Examples of routine medical and dental care include:

• Annual wellness exams and sick visits
• Immunizations and tuberculosis screenings
• Diagnostic tests — blood work, X-rays, imaging
• Outpatient prescriptions for routine conditions
• Routine dental cleanings and fillings
• Specialist referrals — dermatology, orthopedics, allergy, ENT

This is substantially broader than Items 1–4 of the affidavit, which limit non-relative caregivers to school-related medical care only (sports physicals, school immunizations, and care delivered on school grounds).

Specific Limits on Medical Consent

Some treatment decisions have separate limits or procedures under California law:

• Surgery for a child age 14 or older — Probate Code Section 2353 generally requires the child's and guardian's consent, or a court order authorizing the surgery. A guardian may consent alone in an emergency when the child faces loss of life or serious bodily injury.
• Psychotropic medications — AB 665 does not let a minor consent to psychotropic medication on their own. For a dependent child removed from parental custody, the juvenile court decides whether to authorize the medication, unless its order delegates approval or denial to a parent or legal guardian. The request uses Form JV-220.
• Involuntary placement in a mental health treatment facility — Probate Code Section 2356 requires separate procedures under Welfare and Institutions Code Sections 5150 or 5350 for involuntary civil placement.
• Experimental drugs — Probate Code Section 2356 allows these only as provided in Article 4 (beginning with Section 111515) of the Health and Safety Code.
• Sterilization procedures

The surgery rule applies to a qualified relative who completes the affidavit because Family Code Section 6550 gives that caregiver the same medical and dental consent rights as a guardian under Section 2353. For decisions outside those consent rights, probate guardianship provides broader legal authority.

Family Code 6910: When Another Adult Is Authorized

Family Code Section 6910 creates a separate written authorization. A parent, legal guardian, or relative caregiver authorized under Section 6550 may authorize another adult into whose care the child has been entrusted to consent to medical or dental care.

The critical difference: the Caregiver's Authorization Affidavit is signed by the caregiver alone — no parent signature required. A Section 6910 authorization is signed by the parent, legal guardian, or relative caregiver authorized under Section 6550 and given to another adult who has the child in their care.

This matters in practical scenarios:

A parent going into treatment or deployment. The parent is still involved and cooperative, but will be temporarily unreachable. They sign a Section 6910 authorization naming you as the person who can consent to the child's medical or dental care. The written authorization documents the parent's delegation while they are unavailable.

A non-relative temporary caretaker. A neighbor watches the child for two weeks while you travel. You (as the relative holding affidavit authority) can sign a Section 6910 authorization to that neighbor, authorizing them to consent to medical or dental care during your absence. The neighbor couldn't execute their own affidavit because the child doesn't reside with them.

Using both documents. You hold the affidavit for your own school and medical or dental authority. If another adult will care for the child, you can also use Section 6910 to authorize that adult in writing to consent to medical or dental care while the child is entrusted to them.

How Providers Respond to Each

In practice, most pediatricians, dentists, and clinics accept the Caregiver's Authorization Affidavit without asking about the underlying statute. They rely on the good-faith protection in Family Code Section 6550(c) and process the appointment.

Hospital settings are different. When a child needs something beyond a routine visit — a scheduled surgery, a specialist consultation that might lead to invasive treatment, or an ER visit with complex follow-up — the intake coordinator often wants to understand the source of authority more precisely. Having the affidavit plus a parent-signed Section 6910 delegation gives you a stronger position than the affidavit alone.

If a provider resists, present the instrument and its statutory basis, then escalate to the facility's patient relations or risk management department. The good-faith reliance protection in Family Code Section 6550(c) applies when a provider accepts a properly completed Caregiver's Authorization Affidavit. The school and clinic refusal resolution process applies to medical providers too.

When to Use Which

Caregiver's Authorization Affidavit (FC 6550): Your primary tool. Works for school enrollment, school-related care, and — for relatives — medical and dental care under Probate Code 2353. No parent signature needed.

Family Code Section 6910 authorization: Use when a parent, legal guardian, or relative caregiver authorized under Section 6550 wants another adult caring for the child to consent to medical or dental care.

Both together: You hold the affidavit for your own authority; the Section 6910 authorization lets another adult caring for the child consent to medical or dental care.

Our California school and medical consent guide includes line-by-line instructions for both instruments, a comparison table showing exactly what each one covers, and scenario walkthroughs for common situations — including what to do when a provider asks for more documentation than the affidavit provides.

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