I am going on a cruise in June with my 12 year old granddaughter. We have our passports already. I am wondering what documents do I need to carry giving me permission to take her out of the country. Her mother has legal custody of her so is a simple noterized letter from her mother giving me permission to take her all I need?

You also need permission to authorize medical care, just in case.

Check with the cruise line. There is no government authority that checks documents of anyone departing the US.

If you plan to leave the cruise boat, you will have to be able to comply with that country's requirements for entry of a minor w/o a parent. It may require more than a notorized letter from the mother (e.g. proof of mother's sole legal custody, permission from father, etc.) In addition to checking with the cruise line, you may want to check with the embassy of any countries you plan to visit.

Typically you need proof of approval from both parents to take a child put of the country (to avoid any child custody issues). It doesn't matter that you daughter has custody - the child can't leave the country without the father's OK - any more than your daughter could move the child out of the state without notification and approval by either the father or the court

It's simplest to have the father write a note and have it notarized. If he's not in the picture you should check with the cruise line to see if you need court documents or proof that you daughter has sole legal - not just de facto - custody.

And don't forget what djkbooks mentioned re: medical power of attorney. The more official-looking the documents you have, the less trouble you're likely to have.

Once I wanted to take my children to Mexico for a vacation, and since their father was not very cooperative, I wrote a letter and had it notarized saying that he was dead, and I had custody. It worked.

I wrote a letter and had it notarized saying that he was dead, and I had custody.


Didn't you have to present a death certificate to the notary public?

A notary public verifies that the signature is that of the person it is supposed to be, and that it is an original signature. The notary does not verify the correctness of the content of the document.

Different specifics vary in some states, but that is the basic formula.

Right, LisaG...it is amazing how many people think that the fact that a document has been notarized makes its contents legitimate.

In my state at least, you have to swear to the notary that the info is accurate to the best of your knowledge. So that if the info is found out to not be true, it's not the notary who gets into trouble, it's the person who presented the information.

well in my state, all the notary needed was to verify my signature. She put a big red seal on it and it looked very official. As I recall, no one in Mexico ever asked to see it.

I'm not going to argue with so many replies, but if the replies are correct then my next question is,

What's the point of Notary Public?

If I can just make up anything, sign it and have it notorized to make it look authentic, then I can see many instances how it can be used to defraud.

I meant to say "I'm not going to argue with so many replies because it seems to me like the posters know what they're talking about,......"

AAFF - As previously stated the Notary only guarantees the signature is valid. Having a signature on a document notarized in no way reflects on the validity of the document itself. This is really basic business 101.

The main purpose of the Notary is to identify the person signing the document. There are many legal documents in which it is important for the signature to be "authentic" and it's the Notary's job to make that authentication.

The fact that some people misunderstand the significance of a Notarized signature could put them is a position of "being defrauded" but that is due to their own ignorance. One has to perform the proper due diligence on every transaction and not rely solely on a Notarized signature.

The cruise line will typically require a notarized letter from both parents giving permission. However, if your daughter has a divorce decree stating that she has sole custody of your granddaughter, a certifed copy of that with the notarized letter from your daughter may be sufficient.

Verify that with the cruise line directly, but don't expect it to be easy to get a clear answer. If you can get notarized permission from the father as well as the mother, that would be best.

And do be sure to get a durable power of attorney that will alow you to direct medical care. djbooks is absolutely on target there.

I think it is an important point to determine exactly what kind of custody your daughter has, as Doug_Stallings has indicated.

If your daughter has sole legal and physical custody, a copy of the decree/order and a notarized letter giving her permission should work. If it is joint custody, permission by the father will also be required. Of course, you should check with the cruise line directly.

I have sole physical and legal custody of my daughter. I have done several cruises and international trips with her, and always carry a certified copy of the decree indicating the terms of custody. Interestingly, it is the cruise lines that give my documents the most inspection.

Doug, it may be splitting hairs (hares?), but what Limes needs re: medical care is "health care power of attorney" (in some places, they may call it "health care surrogate..." or something like that) that can be written just for the duration of the trip. "Durable" implies it's a forevermore thing, I believe, and tends to be used for financial POA's.

But I second the recommendation that Limes gets her daughter to go to a lawyer to get that drawn up, whatever you call it.

Limes, you don't have to go to a lawyer for a power of attorney for medical care. There are plenty of forms online, so just choose one that suits your needs and include the pertinent information. The document will need to be signed by your daughter and notarized.

Yes, I messed up on my terminology. They need a health care proxy but also a power of attorney because they aren't the parents. I'd probably get both if traveling abroad, though that is certainly no guarantee.