If you decide to give temporary guardianship of your child over to another person, you are allowing another party to protect and control the affairs of your child. The party who gains guardianship of your child has the ability to reside with your minor until you return or your child is assigned a permanent guardian that is not you.
Reasons For Giving Someone Else Temporary Guardianship Of Your Child
Relinquishing control of your child is an action you may want to take if you are going out of town for an extended period of time due to your career or if you’ll be incapacitated for a few months after having a major medical surgery.
If you give someone else this power, you must have trust that they will have the best interest of your child. Typically, temporary guardianship is used if you are going to be traveling abroad for an extended period of time. If you took your child with you, it would disrupt your child’s life.
For example, if you are an oil worker who gets assigned to a temporary six-month position in a remote area of Alaska, it would not be feasible for you to bring along a child that is a minor. In this case, you would give temporary guardianship of your child to a friend or relative who you trust.
You may also decide to relinquish guardianship if you are suffering from a medical condition or disability that requires you to travel abroad for treatment. It would be best during this difficult time to let a trusted friend or relative take care of your child.
In some cases, you may have no choice in the matter. If you are deemed incompetent, someone else may be given temporary guardianship of your child. In these type of cases, a court may decide to monitor the situation to ensure that the new guardian is making sound decisions for the betterment of your child.
Temporary Guardianship Agreement Form
If you decide to relinquish guardianship, you will need to complete a temporary guardianship agreement form. It should be notarized and kept with the new guardians. In some cases, it will need to be filed with your state, county or city. This depends on the regulations in your specific state. The temporary guardianship agreement form will declare a relative or friend as the temporary guardian of your child.
How Long Can Temporary Guardianship Last?
In most cases, the temporary guardianship will be for a period of time that lasts up to two months. However, the time length will vary from case to case. The timeframe that the guardianship is in place will extend for longer periods of time if a parent is severely incapacitated.
Jim Treebold is a North Carolina based writer. He lives by the mantra of “Learn 1 new thing each day”! Jim loves to write, read, pedal around on his electric bike and dream of big things. Drop him a line if you like his writing, he loves hearing from his readers!