Guardianship Information

I write this post because I was in line at the Superior Court Clerk’s office trying to file some documents for a case on which I am working. The clerk’s office is small so it is easy to overhear conversations with the clerk. I overheard a very young grandmother there with her three grandchildren stating that she had gone to social security administration and they had sent her to the courthouse. Not understanding what was necessary, she was asking the clerk for help. I immediately knew that she needed to apply for a guardianship, but I could not tell her this because it would be ethically questionable for me to do so considering her situation. (I also did not know if at some point I had helped the children’s parents with anything that would conflict me out). However, I wanted to write this post because I believe that this is a situation that is common and giving a simple process for applying for a guardianship may be helpful. 

In California, you do not need a full guardianship in order to make certain decisions for children having a caregiver affidavit should be enough to enroll the children in school and to take them to the doctor for urgent or emergency care. This is useful information for those grandparents that are watching the children for a weekend while the parents are away. The children can still be treated at the doctor’s office using a caregiver affidavit. This is a little digression on my way to a bigger explanation about guardianships.

There are certain situations for which court paperwork, a Court order, may be necessary in order for you to approve certain decisions for the children. Here are a few examples:

• Child is trying to get driver’s license and needs parent approval
• Medical insurance documents ( medical insurers may have their own requirements and it may be that you need to do a formal adoption).
• Child needs to get a copy of their social security card because theirs is lost
• Child needs to obtain a passport
• In order to enforce your rights as a guardian against a parent ( I will explain this a little later). 

So what is a guardianship?

A guardianship is a legal procedure by which a child’s caretaker gets permission to make decisions for the child (the child as a person or the child’s estate). Usually the guardian is not legally responsible for the child’s finances although the guardian can also petition to be guardian of the estate of the child. The guardian has custody over the children and has the right to make decisions over the children, however, the parental rights remain and once the parents are ready to take over they can petition the court for custody. 

To start a guardianship. The guardians must:

1. Fill out the correct forms 
2. File the documents 
3. Pay a fee or ask for the fee waiver – the fee waiver is based on the child’s income, so a fee waiver must be filled out for each child.
4. Serve the filed documents to the parents, and grandparents of the child. If the child is full or part Native American, his/her tribe must also be given notice. 

THIS IS A VERY IMPORTANT STEP, IF THE DOCUMENTS ARE NOT SERVED, THEN THE GUARDIANSHIP WILL NOT BE GRANTED.

1. There will be a court investigation into the guardians. This procedure is usually done by someone at the court. I am not sure what goes on in every county. In my county this is just an interview to make sure that the potential guardians are fit to hold this position.
2. If nobody objects to the guardianship, then the court will grant the guardianship.
3. Letters of guardianship must be issued.
4. Then you use the certified order to go to the DMV, Social Security Administration Office, etc and get the child’s affairs in order. 
5. You will need to check in with the court at least once per year.

Hopefully, this breaks it down a little more. Again this information is intended for a California audience and in California most court houses have what is called: a Family Law Facilitator and/ or a self help center. Most of these centers will provide classes and guidance for these steps.