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A legal guardian is a person who has the legal authority (and the corresponding duty) to care for the personal and property interests of another person, called a ward. Usually, a person has the status of guardian because the ward is incapable of caring for his or her own interests due to infancy, incapacity, or disability. Most countries and states have laws that provide that the parents of a minor child are the legal guardians of that child, and that the parents can designate who shall become the child's legal guardian in the event of their death.
Courts generally have the power to appoint a guardian for an individual in need of special protection. A guardian with responsibility for both the personal well-being and the financial interests of the ward is a general guardian. A person may also be appointed as a special guardian, having limited powers over the interests of the ward. A special guardian may, for example, be given the legal right to determine the disposition of the ward's property without being given any authority over the ward's person. A guardian appointed to represent the interests of a person with respect to a single action in litigation is a guardian ad litem (which translated from Latin means "guardian for the proceeding").
Guardians ad litem are often appointed in divorce cases to represent the interests of the minor children. The kinds of people appointed as a guardian ad litem vary by state, ranging from volunteers to social workers to regular attorneys. The two divorcing parents are usually responsible for paying the fees of the guardian ad litem, even though the guardian ad litem is not responsible to them at all. The guardian ad litem's only job is to represent the minor children's best interests.
More on [ Legal guardian ]
RT @_EstatePlanning: children's guardianships, the difference between guardianship and adoption. http://ow.ly/NoGq
sljorgensen (Sonja Jorgensen) Thu, 31 Dec 2009 01:14:41 -0000
RT @_EstatePlanning: children's guardianships, the difference between guardianship and adoption. http://ow.ly/NoGq
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ABA Commission on Law and Aging: Guardianship - Statutory charts providing a quick reference on state law from petitioning to monitoring, including notice, counsel, pre-hearing investigations, court findings, and capacity definition.
Guardianship and Alternatives - The Center for Social Gerontology reviews a number of landmark studies and projects related to various aspects of the guardianship issue.
Meta Description: [ The Center for Social
Gerontology ]
Guardianship and other Legal Protections of Vulnerable Adults - The Clearinghouse on Abuse and Neglect of the Elderly (CANE)offers a comprehensive selected annotated bibliography on this issue.
National Guardianship Association - Provides educational, training, and networking opportunities for professionals and others interested in guardianship and protective services. Includes a model code of ethics for guardians.
Meta Description: [ The mission of NGA is to provide educational training and networking opportunities for guardians and about guardianship;
to promote highest levels of values, standards and ethics; and to ensure a nationally recognized standard of excellence. ]
U.S. Government Accountability Office Report on Guardianships - This extensive report explores the collaboration needed to protect incapacitated elderly people. Includes a survey of local courts and comments from major agencies.
Wards of the State: A National Study of Public Guardianship - This report by the University of Kentucky and the American Bar Association includes a statutory chart, findings from the national survey, public guardianship models, and recommendations.
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