Those who have traveled without your kids...

[Tay N Evie's Mom]

DH and I are considering DCL this fall for our 10th anniversary-the first vacation without our 4 year old twins. I was wondering how all of you handled the "legal" end of having someone watch your kids while you were gone. Did you go as far as have a lawyer draw up some type of paper giving your caregiver right to have your child treated in case of an emergency or temporary custody rights if you and your spouse were hurt or killed on vacation and not able to come back right away to get your children. Or would a notarized letter be sufficient. What did you include in your papers-any help would be appreciated!!!

 

[Michelle]

We haven't had the chance to travel together without our daughter for more than a long weekend (unfortunately!) but when we did we left a form with the caretaker that authorized her to seek medical treatment for our daughter in case of emergency. I think we found the form off the internet somewhere, here's one I found with a quick google search and I'm sure you could find others to adapt as needed:

http://www.sca-caid.org/marshal/forms/minor2.html

As for CUSTODY issues, that is something else entirely. I would definitely be sure you have a current will that outlines custody arrangements for your children in the event of the death of both parents (God forbid). I would do that NOW regardless of whether you travel together without the kids or not. That's just something that parents need to do.

I hope you have a wonderful anniversary cruise!

 

[peg2001]

Definitely have a release allowing the caregivers to seek medical care for your children, if necessary. I've given one of these to my sister and she only watches my children for a few hours at a time! We did not go to a lawyer but I don't remember where the paperwork came from. My sister is a nurse and she found it somewhere, maybe the local hospital.

I would not bother with legally trying to set up temporary custody.

It is always a good idea to have an up-to-date will providing your choice of custody for your children should the worst happen.

 

[CamColt]

We just got this done the other day since we will be taking our first trip without kids since our honeymoon 7 yrs ago. Basically I wrote....
We XXXXX & XXXXX give full and complete authority to ***** & ******to act in our behalf for the welfare(medical, fianncial, physical, etc...) of our children Cameron & Colton *****.

Then we signed it and got it notarized.

 

[mrsltg]

DH and I are blessed that my parents take our daughter for a week at a time every two months. I write a letter to the effect that I give them full permission to authorize medical treatment for Dierdre. I've never had it notarized, and my Mom (an er nurse)says that what I give them is more than sufficient. And if it's some thing major (God forbid), whatever needs to be done will be done regardless.

As far as custody issues, regardless of where you leave your kids you should really always have custody matters determined. It's very easy to have the papers drawn up, and it avoids a potentially devastating situation later.


Now that all the morbidity is said.... have a wonderful vacation!!!!


Erin

 

[Fawn]

Originally posted by Tay N Evie's Mom
DH and I are considering DCL this fall for our 10th anniversary-the first vacation without our 4 year old twins.

This is allowed???????? Why was I not told this sooner!!!!

 

[hydster]

which we have done every other year since my oldest was born to go on an "adult"cruise we found a medical release form online just do a search. We also found a Will Maker so we used it to make our will's had them all notarized and took off not realizing the first time that we had to leave our insurance card DUH! We left and my daughter of course got really sick and ended up in the emergency room with viral meningitis and my parents didnt have our insurance card. It made for a big hassle for my parents and for us when we got home and we had to pay my parents back the money that they had to pay up front to get her seen since it looked like we didnt have any insurance for her plus we had to go through all kinds of red tape to get the insurance to end up covering her through it all. I would just make sure that you keep everything current, make sure it is all notarized and dont be idiots like we were and leave one of your insurance cards with the caretaker! Also we made extra copies of everything (In case grandma got Alzheimers while we were gone LOL) and we put them in our freezer at our house. We were told by the guy who did my parents trust that that is one of the best places to put important papers because in the event of a fire the freezer is the least likely to catch on fire since it is cold and also would take alot to melt a fridge (not that it wouldnt happen) but he suggested that you put a 2nd copy of all of your important papers in a freezer under things so if your house gets robbed or something you always have a second copy. We put them in Freezer Ziploc bags and date them and write what they are on the outside!
Just a suggestion!
Oh yeah and one more thing REALLY ENJOY YOUR KIDLESS CRUISE! IT goes by too fast!
Heidi

 

[Dave_from_Marietta]

Good point, hydster. Sorry you and your parents had trouble, but thanks for passing that important advice along.

 

[hydster]

I just dont want anyone to have to go through needless hassle like we did! We couldnt believe how hard it was to deal with this after we got home but thankfully it ended well and I have a very healthy 9 year old daughter in the end!
Heidi

 

[gfolchick]

There is another website, www.legaldocs.com that offers a free child care authorization. It prints out the childrens name, guardians name, dates, and what you are giving authority for (seeking medical attention, making medical decisions, etc.) I used it last year when we went on our adult only cruise in May. Enjoy yourselves and Happy Anniversary!

 

[MrsG]

Our dd and ds are over 18 and my elderly Mom lives with us so our concerns are a little different. If they are staying at your house, don't forget a list with important numbers: doctors, gas&electric emergency #'s, appliance repair, and anything else that you can think of. When we made our list, we couldn't believe all the info we had in our heads about what to do or who to call in an emergency, yet our kids had no clue. Also, the stuff tends to go out of your head in an emergency so it is a valuable list to post anyway.

Hope this helps

Mrs. G

 

[BethC1952]

We have a notarized "Child Care Release" when we take care of my Granddaughter. My son recently pointed out that we don't really need child care and custody arrangements in our will anymore--he's 27, and his wife thought maybe she should have custody of him if anything happens to us!

Beth