Power of attorney for godmother for temporary legal custody/guardianship

[ESPHeadmaster]

Hello,

I have what I believe to be a rather unique situation that I need advice on.

I am an American citizen working in the Laos PDR (S.E. Asia). I want to send my daughter (age 14) to study in North Carolina as we are dissatisfied with the education she is receiving here. As her mother and I are financially and logistically incapable of accompanying her, we will be sending her to live with her godmother.

I had planned to get the local American Embassy to provide me with the appropriate power of attorney so that the godmother could enroll her into school there--North Carolina state law requires that minors be enrolled by parents or legal guardians. However, after conducting some research on the matter, it appears that North Carolina law mandates that the relevant power of attorney be signed by the godmother before a notary along with the parents. As I stated earlier, we are unable to go to the states, nor is the godmother able to come here to Laos.

Therefore, I would like to know if there is an alternative or if the public school will accept a power of attorney singed only by the parents and notarized by the American Embassy given the circumstances?

I would greatly appreciate any advice or assistance that anyone may be able to provide me.

 

[LdiJ]

Hello,

I have what I believe to be a rather unique situation that I need advice on.

I am an American citizen working in the Laos PDR (S.E. Asia). I want to send my daughter (age 14) to study in North Carolina as we are dissatisfied with the education she is receiving here. As her mother and I are financially and logistically incapable of accompanying her, we will be sending her to live with her godmother.

I had planned to get the local American Embassy to provide me with the appropriate power of attorney so that the godmother could enroll her into school there--North Carolina state law requires that minors be enrolled by parents or legal guardians. However, after conducting some research on the matter, it appears that North Carolina law mandates that the relevant power of attorney be signed by the godmother before a notary along with the parents. As I stated earlier, we are unable to go to the states, nor is the godmother able to come here to Laos.

Therefore, I would like to know if there is an alternative or if the public school will accept a power of attorney singed only by the parents and notarized by the American Embassy given the circumstances?

I would greatly appreciate any advice or assistance that anyone may be able to provide me.

You are asking the wrong people. The only people who can answer your question are the administrators of the school system where your child would end up being enrolled.

However, there is another solution. You and the godmother do not have to use the same notary. You have the document drawn up so that there is a place for a notary to sign after your signatures, and you have another spot for a notary to sign after the godmother's signature. You have the notary at the embassy notarize you and mom's signature and then you send the document to the godmother. She takes it to a notary in her area, signs it there, and has her signature notarized.

People do things this way ALL of the time (I am a notary).

 

[Zigner]

I had planned to get the local American Embassy to provide me with the appropriate power of attorney so that the godmother could enroll her into school there...

The embassy won't do that. There is no way they would even know what the "appropriate" power of attorney is, much less provide it. As mentioned above you LdiJ, you'll need to talk to the school district in North Carolina to find out what documentation they would require.

 

[LdiJ]

The embassy won't do that. There is no way they would even know what the "appropriate" power of attorney is, much less provide it. As mentioned above you LdiJ, you'll need to talk to the school district in North Carolina to find out what documentation they would require.

Its even possible that the school district won't accept just a POA. The school district may require that the godmother have legal guardianship (court is required for that) or custody (court is also required for that).

Some friends of mine ended up having to send their child to private school instead of public school, because they did not want to give legal guardianship or custody to someone else.

 

[not2cleverRed]

I would question whether this plan is a viable option, since neither parent is a resident of the school district, and the godmother would not be a legal guardian.

If you trust the godmother, agreeing to have her be a legal guardian would ben the route to go.

Otherwise, you might have to pay out-of-district tuition, which one can expect to be comparable to the cost of a private school.

 

[ESPHeadmaster]

You are asking the wrong people. The only people who can answer your question are the administrators of the school system where your child would end up being enrolled.

However, there is another solution. You and the godmother do not have to use the same notary. You have the document drawn up so that there is a place for a notary to sign after your signatures, and you have another spot for a notary to sign after the godmother's signature. You have the notary at the embassy notarize you and mom's signature and then you send the document to the godmother. She takes it to a notary in her area, signs it there, and has her signature notarized.

People do things this way ALL of the time (I am a notary).

Thanks so much. That's great advice.

 

[ESPHeadmaster]

The embassy won't do that. There is no way they would even know what the "appropriate" power of attorney is, much less provide it. As mentioned above you LdiJ, you'll need to talk to the school district in North Carolina to find out what documentation they would require.

But the embassy is who told me that I would need a power of attorney, to obtain the notarization from them and directed me to research the specifics for the given state. I misspoke when I said they would actually provide the power of attorney. they will notarize it for me.

 

[ESPHeadmaster]

I would question whether this plan is a viable option, since neither parent is a resident of the school district, and the godmother would not be a legal guardian.

If you trust the godmother, agreeing to have her be a legal guardian would ben the route to go.

Otherwise, you might have to pay out-of-district tuition, which one can expect to be comparable to the cost of a private school.

Had not considered that. However, do public high schools really charge tuition now?

 

[stealth2]

Had not considered that. However, do public high schools really charge tuition now?

For out-of-district students? Of course they do.

But the embassy is who told me that I would need a power of attorney, to obtain the notarization from them and directed me to research the specifics for the given state. I misspoke when I said they would actually provide the power of attorney. they will notarize it for me.

I suspect either the embassy misunderstood, or you did. I'm sure they can notarize anything you bring them.

 

[not2cleverRed]

Had not considered that. However, do public high schools really charge tuition now?

Yes, public schools charge tuition for students who do not live in the district.

Why should taxpayers have to foot the bill for the education of children who aren't at least residents of their community? You and your spouse aren't paying property taxes or rent in that community - where do you think money for the school budget comes from?

https://www.usnews.com/education/articles/2009/03/02/schools-crack-down-on-boundary-hopping