In Some States, It’s Called a Conservatorship
Video Transcribed: What is a guardianship in Oklahoma? I’m James Wirth, a lawyer in Tulsa, and that’s a simple question we have is what is a guardianship?
Well, if you are not a parent of a child and you’re seeking custody of that child, generally you’re going to file for a guardianship. And anybody has the standing to file a guardianship over any child or an adult that needs protection and can’t make their own decisions. But for this video, we’re talking about guardianships over minors. So in some states, they call it a conservatorship, such in California. In the state of Oklahoma, we call it a guardianship.
There are two parts to it, two facets. You can have a guardianship over the person and you can have a guardianship over the estate. Most of the time it’s very common that both are granted in the same one if you’re getting guardianship over a minor.
However, it is possible to have two separate ones under the right circumstances where you could have separate guardians or where the ward could be in control of one if it’s an adult and not the other, for example. So those are two separate types. But if you are not a parent and you are seeking custody of a child, generally in Oklahoma, you’re going to want to file a guardianship with the court. And you can do that on an emergency basis if there are proper grounds for that, and you can do it on a general basis. And on a general basis, the guardianship just keeps going until it is filed to be terminated.
Normally, the court, when the guardianship is entered, notes the corrections that need to be corrected or what the parents need to do – generally it’s the parents – to get custody back. And then once those are completed, they can file a motion to terminate the guardianship. But guardianships are always considered to be temporary, even though they may be where they keep going until they’re terminated. They’re always considered to be temporary in nature, not permanent, unlike an adoption which is permanent.
Once that decree is entered, that terminates the parental rights as part of that process, and it is considered permanent. Guardianship is never permanent. You could always file as a parent to terminate it. And if you can show that the concerns have been resolved and that you are a fit parent, you should be able to get custody back. You cannot take custody away from parents and get a guardianship granted unless you can demonstrate that the parents are unfit or unavailable to care for these children.
So that’s the general answer for what is a guardianship. But if you’re dealing with these circumstances and you want more than a general answer, you want something specific, legal advice to your circumstances. So get that from an Oklahoma guardianship attorney at my office by going online to makelaweasy.com.
