CAREGIVER DESIGNATION

At the end of January 2005, Governor Pataki signed into law a bill that created a “Designation of Person in Parental Relation” section in New York’s General Obligation Law. The General Obligations Law includes statutes about powers of attorney. This new law creates a limited parental power of attorney by legalizing the common practice of parents writing notes to schools or to medical providers in order to permit other persons to assume responsibility for children.

A form can be found at this link:

http://www.ocfs.state.ny.us/main/Forms/kinship/OCFS-4940%20Designation%20of%20Person%20in%20Parental%20Relationship.pdf