What Is Temporary Custody and Why May I Need It?
Temporary custody allows an individual who is not the custodial parent of the child to take care of them during a short period. Various possible reasons can explain the need for temporarily delegating the care of one’s children to somebody they trust. The most common reasons have to deal with:
- Divorce, as the process can be costly and extremely time-consuming.
- Financial instability or financial issues of the parent that make caring for the child impossible
- An illness that prevents the parent from being able to properly care for the child, for example, an illness that involves hospitalization.
- Working schedule that is incompatible with taking care of the child, for example, a long work-related trip.
There could be other reasons that can lead to the parent not being able to take care of their child that also can result in a temporary custody assignment.
Creating a temporary custody agreement is the best way to ensure that the child will be taken care of legally by the person you trust in case of emergency. Making certain health-related decisions on behalf of the parents is only possible with an agreement of such kind. Suppose you anticipate that your child will be spending a lot of time with their grandparents because of the current circumstances in your life. In that case, it is better to have such an agreement because the grandparents would not have certain decision-making rights without it, even being close relatives.
Whom Can I Choose As the Temporary Custodian?
There are no limitations to who can be assigned the custodian duties. Naturally, parents should completely trust the person they assign as the temporary guardian and regard them as reliable. The child and the proposed guardian should have a good pre-existing relationship. Most likely, the parents would choose from the following categories of people:
- Grandparents
- Other relatives
- Godparents
- Close friends
All of the above-mentioned categories of individuals typically have close bonds to families and children and are good options to consider when choosing a guardian. You could also change the guardians or assign specific guardians for different periods as you can revoke or change your custody form.
How to Arrange a Temporary Child Custody in the United States
There is no single rule about how a temporary child custody agreement should be created in the United States. If you are the parent, you can do it by yourself or with the other parent, but both parents sign the agreement unless there is an appropriate reason why the other parent cannot do so, for example, if they are deceased or unknown.
If you want somebody else to have custody of your child for a long period, you would need a court’s approval. If it is under six months and both parents have agreed to it and are signing the form, typically, you would not need to go to a judge, and a properly filled out and notarized agreement would be enough. Check the state laws to find out what kind of guardianship agreement you may need and whether you need a permanent order.