Consent to Health Care for a Minor — So Your Child Can Get Care When You Can’t Be There

When you can’t be reached — deployed, traveling, or otherwise unavailable — your child may still need a doctor. North Carolina lets a parent delegate health-care decisions for their child to a trusted adult for exactly those times. A properly executed Authorization to Consent to Health Care for a Minor gives someone you choose the authority to make those decisions while you’re away, so a delay or a missing signature never stands between your child and the care they need.

Military parents often execute one before a deployment, so that family can make medical decisions for their child while they serve. Custodial parents who travel frequently use them for the same reason — the peace of mind that the right person can act if something happens.

Getting the Formalities Right

The protection only works if it’s done right. To be valid, the Consent to Health Care for a Minor must be signed by the custodial parent who has sole or joint legal custody and acknowledged before a notary public, in full compliance with N.C. Gen. Stat. § 32A-29. A properly executed consent allows your chosen agent to make decisions for a minor child who is not yet eighteen and has not otherwise become emancipated. Those decisions may include any care, treatment, service, or procedure to maintain, diagnose, treat, or provide for the child’s physical, mental, or personal care and comfort — including life-sustaining procedures and dental care.

The Authority You Grant — and Its Limits

You may grant your agent full power and authority to consent to and authorize health care for your child, to the same extent you could as the custodial parent — and you may place specific restrictions and limitations on that authority. One line this form cannot cross: you may not authorize an agent to withhold life-sustaining procedures for your child.

Revocation

A Consent to Health Care for a Minor is automatically revoked when:

1. the authorization specifies a date after which it is no longer effective;
2. the minor child attains the age of eighteen or is otherwise emancipated; or
3. the rights of the custodial parent who signed the agreement to custody of the minor child are terminated.

You may also revoke the consent at any time.

Sample Document

You may review an example of an Authorization to Consent to Health Care for a Minor. Because the authority you grant — and the limits you set — should fit your family, consult a licensed attorney before you execute one. We’ll make sure it does exactly what you intend, and nothing you don’t.