(Opinion found in Lawyers Weekly 12/2/19)
A parent or guardian of minor children currently has the ability to use a "caregiver affidavit" to designate a person as a temporary caregiver in the parent's absence, without the need for a court order pursuant to G.L.c. 201F, SS1-6.
Parents who are aware of this option generally use it to provide a live-in caregiver with the authority to make decisions about a child's health care or education while they are away.
But while the concept of the caregiver affidavit is valuable, its usefulness is limited under existing law. Currently, a caregiver affidavit goes into effect as soon as it is signed and expires after two years, and the authority given is limited to health care and educational decisions. The law also appears to require that the appointed person already be residing in the home with the child.
That approach is helpful for planned absence sin situations in which the child already has a live-in caregiver such as a nanny, but it does not provide coverage when a parent's absence is unplanned - like for emergency treatment to address substance use or mental health problems, or for arrest, incarceration, detention or deportation.
(to be continued on January 3, 2020)
