Many grandparents, aunts, and uncles are caring for children who are not their own. These are often children of parents who are unwilling or unable to care for them. They may be substance abusers, seriously ill, incarcerated, mentally incapacitated, or in active military service outside of the country. If you are such a caregiver, it’s a good idea to have the legal powers that come with being a parent.

Without the powers of a guardian: if there’s a medical emergency, an issue at school that requires you to get involved, or if the child gets in trouble with the law, you will probably be seen as an interested outsider, not someone who’s in a position to make decisions for the child. To prevent this from happening, you should consider becoming the child’s guardian or standby guardian. If that is your situation, you should call our office for assistance.

Professionals, healthcare providers, and government agencies don’t want to get sued.  There are privacy laws that, if not followed, put them in legal jeopardy, as follows:

• A doctor or hospital may want the signature of a parent or guardian on a release before giving out medical information or granting you the power to authorize or prevent medical treatment for the child.

• School grades and other information may not be sent to you. If there are disciplinary problems at school or the child has a disability that needs to be accommodated by the school administration, you may be locked out of the process if you’re not a parent or legally recognized guardian.

If the natural parent can’t be contacted, is imprisoned, or is incapacitated, you could seek a dependency guardianship. If the child is neglected or abandoned by a parent, a court may grant guardianship to you. If the parent is resigned to the fact he or she simply can’t act as a parent, then he or she could agree to a voluntary guardianship where the court would require approval of you as guardian.

Another option is a standby guardianship. It’s a written designation naming you as the “standby” guardian:  if the natural parent dies, becomes incapacitated, or is debilitated. The written designation identifies the parent, the minor child, and the standby guardian. An alternate standby guardian can also be used in the same document.

The parent could also sign a power of attorney giving you legal rights when it comes to medical, educational, and/or legal issues involving the child. If the parent becomes unhappy with what you’re doing or changes his or her mind, the document could be revoked.

New Jersey also provides a half-way measure called Kinship Legal Guardianship (“KLG”).  It offers families in crisis a way out of terminating a natural parent’s rights and having the child enter foster care or be put up for adoption.  The alternative is designating a family member as the KLG, with full supervisory and legal powers, and giving the dysfunctional natural parent a pathway to regain direct custodial powers, but only upon application to the court.

The worst-case scenario is a contested guardianship. You would go to court to be named the child’s guardian, over the natural parent’s objections, and potentially the dispute could be decided by a judge after a full trial. As part of the process the judge would appoint a Guardian ad Litem (guardian for the duration of litigation) for the child, an independent third party charged with getting all the facts and making a recommendation based on the best interests of the child.  Experts could be hired or appointed by the court to assess best interests as well.  The final determination will be made by the court.

If you have questions about guardianship or feel you need legal help on a guardianship issue, call the family law advocates at Kingston Law Group.  We will listen to your facts, explain the law, and suggest approaches that are just right and reasonable for you.  We are compassionate counsel and tough advocates.  Call us at 609-683-7400, or contact us online, to make a near-term initial consultation at a reduced hourly rate.  We are conveniently located in Central Jersey’s Kingston community. Call today.  You will be glad you did.