This article is the 9th installment in a series by Virginia Cornwell, a A State of Ohio Grandparent Rights Lawyer and Ohio State Bar Association Certified Family Relations Specialist.  Virginia is one of approximate 100 attorneys in Ohio to have received this honor.

GRANDPARENT CARETAKER AFFIDAVIT

Ohio Revised Code 3109.65 provides a solution for a situation where a child is living with the grandparent and the parents of the child cannot be found.  This is only a temporary solution, and is not the same thing as legal custody, but it allows the grandparent to do necessary things for the child, such as enrolling the child in school, taking the child to the doctor, etc.

Ohio law states:

(A) Except as provided in division (B) of this section, if a child is living with a grandparent who has made reasonable attempts to locate and contact both of the child’s parents, or the child’s guardian or custodian, but has been unable to do so, the grandparent may obtain authority to exercise care, physical custody, and control of the child including authority to enroll the child in school, to discuss with the school district the child’s educational progress, to consent to all school-related matters regarding the child, and to consent to medical, psychological, or dental treatment for the child by executing a caretaker authorization affidavit in accordance with section 3109.67 of the Revised Code.

(B) The grandparent may execute a caretaker authorization affidavit without attempting to locate the following parent:

(1) If paternity has not been established with regard to the child, the child’s father.

(2) If the child is the subject of a custody order, the following parent:

(a) A parent who is prohibited from receiving a notice of relocation in accordance with section 3109.051 of the Revised Code;

(b) A parent whose parental rights have been terminated by order of a juvenile court pursuant to Chapter 2151 of the Revised Code.

Click here for a caretaker affidavit form that you can copy and paste

GRANDPARENT POWER OF ATTORNEY

Ohio law provides that in certain circumstances a parent may give a grandparent a power of attorney to enroll the child in school, care for the child’s medical needs, etc.  This is similar to the caretaker affidavit situation described above, except that the parent is present and willing to execute the Power of Attorney.

When a parent seeks to create a power of attorney pursuant to section 3109.52 of the Revised Code, all of the following apply:

(A) The power of attorney shall be executed by both parents if any of the following apply:

(1) The parents are married to each other and are living as husband and wife.

(2) The child is the subject of a shared parenting order issued pursuant to section 3109.04 of the Revised Code.

(3) The child is the subject of a custody order issued pursuant to section 3109.04 of the Revised Code unless one of the following is the case:

(a) The parent who is not the residential parent and legal custodian is prohibited from receiving a notice of relocation in accordance with section3109.051 of the Revised Code.

(b) The parental rights of the parent who is not the residential parent and legal custodian have been terminated by order of a juvenile court pursuant to Chapter 2151. of the Revised Code.

(c) The parent who is not the residential parent and legal custodian cannot be located with reasonable efforts.

(B) In all other cases, the power of attorney may be executed only by one of the following persons:

(1) The parent who is the residential parent and legal custodian of the child, as determined by court order or as provided in section 3109.042 of the Revised Code;

(2) The parent with whom the child is residing the majority of the school year in cases in which no court has issued an order designating a parent as the residential parent and legal custodian of the child or section 3109.042 of the Revised Code is not applicable.

Click here for a grandparent power of attorney form that you can copy and paste

The other articles in the series can be seen here:

Part 1 (Table of Contents, Unsuitability) Part 2 (Unsuitable aka Unfit, Never Married, Guardianship, Probate Court, Temporary Custody vs. Legal Custody) Part 3 (Custody, Children Services cases) Part 4 (Custody, Children Services cases, Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children) Part 5(Custody, Visitation in general)

Part 6 (Visitation, Married Parents) Part 7 (Visitation, Unmarried Parents, Unmarried vs. Married Parents, Parent Deceased) Part 8 (Filing the Right Motion), Part 9 (Grandparent Caretaker Affidavit, Grandparent Power of Attorney)

 

DISCLAIMER – read it!