Guardianship of a Minor

This is a second post in a series on Guardianship.  For an introduction to the concept of Guardianship, please start here.

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In contrast to Adult Guardianship, Minor Guardianship is necessary when the presumed responsible parties for a child is or becomes unable to meet the needs of caring for their child.  Generally this happens when parents face illness, addiction, or incarceration. 

Minor Guardianship is different from Adoption in that the legal parents of the child do not change.  This can be preferable for a number of legal and social reasons, but may not be in every family circumstance.  I'm happy to discuss these nuances if applicable one:one. 

To seek guardianship over a minor, courts will need to answer 3 questions -

1. Is the child incapacitated
• the answer here is always yes "by virtue of their minority" 
2. Does the child need a guardian?
• our legal system already has a presumption in place for caring for minor children - it is the natural or adoptive parent's job.  If a guardianship is being sought, the court will need to understand why the need to deviate from this norm.  
3. Who is the best suited to be guardian?
• Options I've seen in my practice include 
• siblings of the natural parents
• parents of the natural parents (so grandparents of the child)
• aunts/uncles of the natural parents - this happens more frequently when there are generational age gaps meaning the aunt/uncle are at a more 'typical' child-rearing age.
• members of the parent's religious or social community
• Note that who you might chose to care for your children in the case of future incapacity might not be the same as a court would choose ... plan ahead, write a will!