Orange County Divorce Lawyer Blog

Several weeks ago I blogged about the instances when a guardianship petition should be filed with the court. Today, I will summarize the duties of a guardian after the court approves the guardianship.

California Judicial Council Form GC-248 itemizes the duties of a guardian. Briefly, some of the duties are as follows:

1) The guardian of the person of a child has the care, custody and control of the child. The guardian is responsible for providing food, clothing, shelter, education and all the medical and dental needs of the child. The guardian must provide for the safety, protection, and physical and emotional growth of the child.

2) The guardian has the full legal and physical custody of the child and is responsible for all decisions relating to the child. The child's parents can no longer make the decisions for the child while there is a guardianship in place. The parents' rights are suspended (not terminated) as long as a guardian is appointed for the minor.

3) The guardian is responsible for the child's education. The guardian shall determine where the child will attend school.

4) The guardian has the right to determine where the child lives. Note: the proposed guardian does not have the right to relocate the child out of the State of California unless the court approves of same.

5) The guardian is responsible for the medical needs of the child.

6) A guardian may obtain child support for the child even after the appointment of a guardian. The parents are still obligated to financially support the child.

7) After the guardian is appointed, the court may require the guardian to allow the parent(s) visitation with the child.

For more information on filing a guardianship action in Orange County or if you would like to explore your options, contact an Orange County guardianship attorney.

Stemming from a strange case out of Indianapolis, Shannon Ellis became pregnant two years ago to the surprise of her family members. Supposedly, her husband had a vasectomy and they told everyone the vasectomy was reversed, thereby explaining the surprise pregnancy. This story turned out to be false. Truth be told, through DNA testing, Ellis became pregnant by a 14 year old boy. The 14 year old boy is a relative of Ellis' husband. Ellis allegedly coaxed the boy into having sex. The two of them continued to have sex after she gave birth. Presently, Ellis is facing sexual misconduct charges with a minor and could face up to 10 years jail time.

From an Orange County divorce lawyer perspective, questions begin to arise regarding the welfare of the child. If the mother is in jail and the father is a minor, who will be the best person to care for the best interest of the child? The baby is currently in the care of Ellis' husband. However, a child custody battle is pending between the minor's parents and Ellis' husband.

At this stage, I do not know how the Indiana courts will rule with respect to this type of scenario. However, from a California child custody point of view, it would make sense if guardianship proceedings are involved considering the circimstances surrounding the biological parents.

For more information on Orange County child custody issues, guardianship issues or criminal issues, contact either an Orange County child custody attorney or an Orange County criminal law attorney.

Source: Child Custody fight stems from sexual misconduct case

Not only can an Orange County divorce attorney assist you in your divorce, paternity, child custody, visitation, domestic violence or annulment issue, but we also assist in guardianship matters. Generally speaking, the following four scenarios is when a party would consider filing for an Orange County guardianship:

1) Orphans: Orphans or situations in which the biological parents cannot be found would be a grounds to seek guardianship. In this scenario, petitions for guardianship are filed by members of eah parent's family.

2) Prevention of abuse or neglect: Probably one of the most common scenarios is a porceeding equivalent to a juvenile dependency in which a guardianship is needed to prevent abuse or neglect of the minor. Most of the time, both biological parents have drug abuse problems or the child may be involved in a dometic violence environment.

3) Child has resided in the home of a Nonparent Adult: Another scenario involves a child who resides in a home of a non-parent adult for so long that the child has bonded with the surrogate family.

4) Technical Change of Custody: The fourth scenario involves situations where the parties desire to change technical custody. For example, a minor may be living with her mother and her grandmother (maternal grandmother). The mother is unemployed and the grandmother will need to add the minor to her health insurance policy. In this situation, a guardianship for a technical change of custody would be appropriate.

If you have a guardianship issue or would like to explore whether petitioning the court for a guardianship is appropriate, contact an Orange County guardianship attorney for more information.

In Korea, a new law will not automatically transfer custody to the surviving parent when the parent who had sole custody of a child dies. Instead, the surviving parent will have to be evaluated by a court. The revision was passed in a Cabinet meeting Tuesday and will come into effect three months after it is ratified in the National Assembly.

From an Orange County family law perspective, if a parent who was awarded sole legal and sole physical custody of a child on post-judgment matter died, the surviving parent is not automatically granted custody. In fact, guardianship proceedings will likely have to take place. The surviving parent is not automatically awarded child custody upon the other parent's death.

Continue reading "Child Custody Issues Arise Upon Death of Divorced Parent" »