Guardianship Letter Templates

The assignment of guardianship is a serious matter that requires a thorough approach to documentation. A legal guardian is the individual or individuals who are responsible for the welfare of a minor child. In almost all cases, the parents are automatically legal guardians of the child, but in certain cases, that guardianship can be transferred through legal documentation.A guardianship letter .

A letter of guardianship is used to give another person guardianship over, or legal right to protect and make decisions for a child, in their parents absence. A temporary letter of guardianship can be used to give a friend or family member decision making rights to a child, or children, when their parents are out of town on business. It can also be used to grant long care guardianship to a responsible adult of the parent's choice if they are no longer able to care for their minor children. To be legally binding the letter must be signed by the parent of the named children and notarized by a notary public who was present at the time the document was signed.A form letter, with blanks to be filled in by the parties in question is available at http://www.triplecanopyranch.com/Letter_Guardianship.pdf. This letter is designed to grant temporary custody to a responsible adult, between two specific dates. It is useful for parents who do not want to fully surrender guardianship of their children, but rather want to assign responsibility of their children to a secondary party while on vacation, a business trip or other traveling situations. In these cases, guardianship is granted to the person or persons caring for the child or children's basic needs during their parents absence. It insures that medical and legal decisions can be made for the child in the case of an emergency, when the parents may not be reachable.A letter of guardianship also assigns care of a child upon the death or incapacitation of their parents. This type of letter grants permanent custody and care, along with legal parentage to the person named in the letter until the child reaches 18, and is emancipated from the home. Nolo has a page of information about selecting a long term guardian for your children, and how to assign that guardianship at http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/guardianship-children-30227.html. A similar document can be used if turning a child over to a guardian long term, because of an inability or unwillingness to care for the child.