By:  LINDSEY O’NEILL, ESQ.

Once you have children, you should put guardianship forms in place in the event something should happen to you as a parent.  Through the appropriate legal forms, you can make your wishes known to the court regarding the custody and care of your children.  Typically, a court prefers to abide by the wishes of the parent, as long as there are no concerns about such potential guardian’s ability to care for the child in accordance with the child’s best interest.  However, guardianship over a minor child can get a bit tricky when one of the parents is somewhat estranged, has given up their custody rights, or there is some other dispute regarding guardianship.  As we’ve all seen in the news, there may be some tricky legal issues involved in the guardianship of Michael Jackson’s children. 

A guardian is person appointed by a court to provide care for a minor child.  In addition to custody over the child, the guardian may or may not be given legal authority to manage the finances and/or assets legally belonging to the child.  Typically, relatives or friends are appointed as a child’s legal guardian when the parent is unable to care for the child any longer.  However, other interested persons may also petition the court for guardianship.

Once a petition for guardianship is filed with the court, an investigation is typically conducted before the court makes its decision.  Many people may be interviewed throughout the process, including the person petitioning for guardianship, the child (or children), and any other person the court determines should be contacted about the case.  The investigator submits a report of his or her investigation to the court and makes a recommendation about what should occur.  Sometimes, the case will even go to a court trial, particularly if there are several interested parties vying for the guardianship.  In all cases, the court must determine that there are sufficient grounds, or proof, that a particular guardianship is in the best interests of the child. 

Guardians are granted legal and physical custody of the child, including the right to make decisions about the child’s education, religion and medical care.  However, guardians’ authority over any financial estate of the child is typically restricted.  For instance, a guardian may be required to obtain a court order to spend estate funds.  Also, guardians are typically not allowed to pay themselves a fee, make any gifts of the estate to others, or borrow money from the child’s estate.  Finally, since guardians of a child’s estate are required to manage the child’s funds in a responsible matter (including keeping records and financial accountings), an attorney is often used by the guardian to help manage the estate. 

For more information about guardianship of a minor child, visit LawInfo’s Free Legal Resource Center.   For assistance with a guardianship, contact an attorney in your area.  You can find a guardianship attorney by clicking here.