“If anything can go wrong, it will”
—Murphy’s Law

In Arizona, a parent of a minor (under age 18) may delegate to another person any powers he may have regarding the care, custody, or property of the minor child, except the power to consent to marriage or adoption of the minor.

A parent desiring to delegate his parental powers pursuant to this law must execute a power of attorney. A parent cannot delegate his parental powers by a power of attorney for longer than six months, but there is no limitation on the number of powers of attorney that he may execute. The six-month period may thus be extended by the execution of successive six-month powers of attorney.

Any parent leaving his child in the care of another for an extended period of time would do well to consider delegating some or all of his parental powers to the child’s temporary car­egiver. By so doing, a parent may be able to avoid the conse­quences of Murphy’s Law.

The above article is an excerpt from Arizona Laws 101: A Handbook for Non-Lawyers, 2nd Edition (Fenestra Books, 2012), by Donald A. Loose, republished with the author’s permission. 

Disclaimer: Laws change constantly. Specific legal advice should be obtained regarding any legal matter. The information contained on this website does not constitute legal advice and no attorney-client relationship is created. 

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Don Loose Author
Lawyer | Loose Law Group | View My Profile

Donald A. Loose is an Arizona attorney, and the author of Arizona Laws 101: A Handbook for Non-Lawyers, and Estate Planning in Arizona: What You Need to Know.  Mr. Loose is a regular guest on radio shows featuring local newsmaker interviews. He may be contacted at don@looselawgroup.com.