When You Need Someone to Care for Your Child or Protected Person: Delegation of Parental Authority (DOPA)

A Delegation of Parental Authority (DOPA) is a document that lets someone else take care of a person in your legal care when you can’t. It is not custody. It is temporary. This may be your child, a child legally under your care, or a “protected person” (when you are a legal guardian). The person you give this permission to is called an “Attorney-in-Fact.”

* We use the word child in this fact sheet to make it easier to understand but when we say child we are talking about any person of any age that is in your legal care.

A DOPA gives permission for someone else to make decisions about another person’s care, custody, and property. It is the same as if you made the decision yourself. This means that someone with a DOPA can take your child to the doctor for medical treatment. They can also excuse them from school for things like illnesses, medical appointments, or other issues. A DOPA does not give permission to decide things like adoption or marriage.

A DOPA does not take away any of your rights to make decisions. You can still override any decisions made by the Attorney-in-Fact.

You need to do a separate DOPA for each child or person you are responsible for. 

DOPAs are good when you are going out of the state or country for any reason. It can be part of vacation planning or if you are facing deportation or jail. Even if you are only at risk for these things it can be a good back-up for these kinds of emergencies.  

You should have DOPAs if:

• You are planning a vacation
• You are going out of state/country on business
• You were born outside of the United States
• You are at risk of being arrested or detained
• You are at risk for deportation
• You are at risk for going to jail
• You have any worries about being able to care for your children on a day-to-day basis 

No. A DOPA does not need to be approved by the court. But if it is for a minor child, you do have to make sure the other parent knows that you are giving this permission to someone else.

You have to give a copy of the DOPA to the other parent within 30 days of signing it unless:

• they don’t have parenting time rights, or  
• they have supervised parenting time rights, or
• there is an Order for Protection in effect to protect you or your child from them. 

A DOPA is only good for one year and needs to be signed in front of notary public. You need to do a new DOPA every year. If you want, you can make it for less than a year.  

If you want something more permanent, there are other options. Most take time and court approval. Talk to a lawyer.  

A DOPA must be written, dated, and then signed by you in front of a notary public. The Attorney -in-Fact has to sign but does not have to sign in front of a notary. The DOPA is effective as soon as it is signed and notarized. Your Attorney-in-Fact can make decisions right away about the child.

You can fill out the form attached to this fact sheet. If you don’t want to use the form, you can write your own letter. Just make sure it includes: 

• the child’s name and birthday 
• what permissions you are giving to the Attorney-in-Fact and 
• the expiration if you want it to be less than one year  

You can create a DOPA online. This is a step-by-step interview that lets you print out a completed form when done.  

The law doesn’t say who you can or can’t name. Besides having to be over 18, there are no other specifics and there is no US citizen requirement.

You want to choose someone that you trust to make decisions, either a family member, close friend, or neighbor, or another responsible adult. Make sure the person is willing to care for your children. Also, let your child know who to go to in an emergency.

It is important that your Attorney-in-Fact has information about your child. Here is a list of some basic info they may need:

• School name and phone number
• Name of the teacher, principal and/or social worker
• Medical Insurance information
• Names and phone numbers of Doctors, Dentist, and other health care professionals
• Day-care provider information
• Allergies (medicines, food, or environmental)
• Daily routines and activities schedules
• Friend’s contact information
   

It is a good idea to write out all this information and keep it with the DOPA. The Attorney-in-Fact should keep a copy of the DOPA with them at all times. They may need to show it to schools, doctors, and other authorities who need proof that they are in charge of the child. They should also take a DOPA with them if they travel with the child. 

You can stop (revoke) a DOPA in writing by letting the person you gave permission to know that you are stopping it. Also, all DOPAs automatically expire in one year. If you want to stop it before the date it expires, tell your child’s doctors, schools, and other care providers.  

If you can’t sign a new form but want to renew it, your Attorney-in-Fact might be able to take the expired DOPA to court and ask for a custody order. They can ask for custody of your child until you can care for them again. The court decides what is in the best interest of the child and if the Attorney-in-Fact is a good person to care for the child.

If you are afraid of something happening suddenly that would make it impossible for you to care for your children, it is a good idea to sign a new DOPA every 6 months rather than waiting for the current one to expire. The easiest way to do this is to fill out the DOPA, except for the signatures, and make a few unsigned copies. Then you don’t have to rewrite it every time and can just take it to a notary for signatures.