Probate guardianship is when a court-appointed adult cares for a child and their property. The adult may not be the child’s parent, and the guardianship can be for the person or estate. It is often initiated when the biological or adoptive parent is unable or unwilling to parent. The court may appoint the same person for both roles or two different people. Urgent proceedings can be requested for temporary guardianship. Immediate family members must be notified of legal guardianship hearings.
Probate guardianship is a proceeding in which a court-appointed adult is authorized by the probate court to care for a child, the child’s property, or both. In many cases the child is abandoned or the parent dies. The court-appointed adult is often not the child’s parent, but an individual, business, or agency qualified and willing to care for the child. Nursing authority is often referred to as guardianship of the person. When the adult is authorized to take care of the child’s personal property, then the authority is called the guardianship of the estate.
Any adult who is appointed guardian of the child often has the duties and responsibilities of a parent, such as seeking medical care when needed. Hereditary guardianship often establishes the unwillingness or inability of the biological or adoptive parent to fulfill the parental role. For example, both parents may be arrested and in jail, or a single parent may be addicted to illegal drugs and, as a result, unable to parent. These circumstances and others often lead to probate protection being initiated by an interested party, such as a relative. The matter is not usually referred to family court because there is no dispute between the parents over custody of the child.
Asset stewardship deals with the financial management of the child’s assets, including income, until the child is considered an adult under applicable laws. For example, a child can inherit assets, and probation is the process in which a court-appointed adult is given the power to manage assets. In many cases, there is a surviving parent whom the court can appoint as guardian of the estate. It is often at the discretion of the court to appoint the same adult to act as both the estate guardian and the person’s guardian. The court may decide to appoint two different people based on the facts of the case.
Applying for legal protection often consists of filing documents with the probate court and requesting a hearing. If the person seeking guardianship fears that the child will be harmed if the proceedings are delayed or that the child is at risk of losing property, then the person can apply for urgent proceedings. This is usually referred to as temporary guardianship and requires a probate court to conduct hearings as soon as possible. Many jurisdictions require immediate family members to be notified of any legal guardianship hearings, and the requirement for notification is often that copies of documents be mailed or delivered to such relatives.
Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN
