A guardianship is a court proceeding
in which a guardian (either a person or an entity) is appointed by
the Probate Court to take care of the minor or to manage the estate of a minor. This is
referred to as a probate guardianship. It is very similar to a
conservatorship of the estate.There are estate
management alternatives to a guardianship of the estate which do
not require court supervision.
The guardian of the person is responsible for
determining where the minor lives, seeing that the minor is
properly fed, clothed and sheltered, supervises the minor's
conduct, ensures that the minor is enrolled in school and that
proper medical care is provided to the minor.
In California, a
guardianship of the person is established where both of the
parents of the minor child have died, or
where the parents are still living but are unable or unwilling to
care for the child. This often occurs when the child is born to
parents who are too young to handle the responsibility of
parenthood or where parents have substance abuse problems and
cannot provide proper care until they get their own lives under
control. A guardianship of the estate of a minor is most often established where a minor has inherited money or received a personal injury settlement.
Our office assists clients who are
faced with these difficult situations in providing the necessary
legal advice and services to obtain a guardianship.
