Guardianship Explained: Protecting At-Risk Children Effectively

Jay R. Bills, Esq.

Understanding Guardianship of a Minor Child

Hi there, my name is Jay Bills. I’m the Okmulgee attorney, and I’m here today to talk to you about guardianships, specifically regarding a minor child. Anyone has a standing to file a guardianship; you don’t have to be related to your family. There are a lot of grandparents or aunts and uncles who file for guardianship.

Still, if there’s a child that’s in need, it needs protection, and their parents aren’t able to provide for them and make good decisions that put the child in harm’s way. We need to talk about doing a guardianship to give you custody of that child temporarily and to allow you to make decisions for that child, including medical and school-related decisions during the guardianship.

The Temporary Nature of Guardianships

Guardianships are temporary, usually, the courts will do what’s called standards for the parents, and the parents will be allowed the opportunity to correct the behavior to get the custody of the child back. If they cannot, then the guardianship will remain in place until they can do so.

So even though it’s temporary, the parents do have to be able to correct their behavior and then go back to court and file a motion to terminate. The court would decide whether or not that parent has met those standards. But if you have a child that’s in need and want to take care of that child, please reach out to me, Jay Bills, the Okmulgee attorney.