Assigning guardianship shares a lot in common with planning your estate. What if something happens to me, who will watch over my children? There is a lot of stress and anxiety that goes with handing over parental control of a child, but there doesn’t have to be. Just like planning your estate, you have control over who you want to designate as a trusted guardian.
Start the Short Term Guardianship process today.
More often than not, the term guardianship has this connotation of being a forever, permanent decision, but that’s where temporary guardianship comes into play. Unlike a permanent guardianship, temporary can mean anything from a few days to a few months, but not forever.
A temporary guardian’s responsibility is to care for your child due to unforeseen circumstances that have arisen in your situation, that temporarily affects the ability to take care of your child/children on a daily basis. Similar to entrusting an individual or individuals with your estate plan, entrusting someone with your children is something that you should have every right over. Whether it’s a family member, friend, or someone else you trust to be capable of supporting them, temporary guardianship allows you to have peace of mind over the wellbeing of your children, no matter what happens.
One thing to note about short-term guardianship is that it doesn’t always mean the person will be the designated legal guardian that oversees your child’s health, finances, and legal decisions. This could mean something as serious as having to sign permission for ER doctors to treat your child, to something as minor as a child’s school field trip that requires a signed slip from a parent/guardian. A temporary guardian has no right to perform any of these duties unless you have all of the legal guardianship documents in order.
The names for these various documents include:
- Power of attorney for minors
- Custodial consent form
- Temporary guardianship agreement
And many more. At Wills and Wellness, our attorneys can help you customize the specifics of these important documents.
How to Decide Who to Name as a Short-Term Guardian
Many factors go into deciding who should be named as a short-term guardian of your minor child.
What is the individual(s) attitude regarding guardianship. Are they supportive? Trustworthy? Reliable? What is the individual’s financial situation whom you’ve chosen to be named as a temporary guardian?
If you know of someone you’d like to assign custody to or have questions regarding all the intricacies associated with short-term guardianship, give us a call. Our attorneys will happily assist you with all your questions. We also offer free educational videos and workshops on our website for you to learn more about what short-term guardianship means to your estate plan.