Can I Be a Legal Guardian to My Brother

According to Find Law, siblings must go to court to become guardians. The elder brother seeking custody must be eighteen years of age and the younger brother must be under eighteen years of age. It will be useful to know if your state has a hierarchy when it comes to assigning guardianship to determine if other family members are qualified. Every child deserves to live in a loving home, with the ideal goal of being two loving parents who can take care of themselves. However, in today`s world, this is not always the case. Some families have single parents, others have mixed households, and some children lose their parents at a young age. If a child`s parents die unexpectedly and a will outlining the wishes of those parents has not been prepared, a court must determine what is the next best course of action with respect to who will care for the child. In the United States, anyone under the age of 18 is considered a minor and must have a legal guardian to care for them. For some children, this may require another family member to care for them, while for other children, foster care may be their only option. While staff in the clerk`s office are helpful, it`s always best to hire a lawyer to fill out legal forms. As mentioned earlier, it is important to prove to a court that guardianship is necessary for a sibling and in the best interests of the sibling.

To obtain custody of siblings, the first step is to determine whether a custody remedy is necessary. A petition to become your brother or sister`s legal guardian is often only made if it is a last option. Getting custody of another person is not an easy task, but seeing your siblings in the custody of a state agency is often even more difficult. The law firm vincent C. Machroli, P.C. has 33 years of experience supporting many families in some of their most difficult times. Whether you`ve recently lost your parents or simply believe it`s better for their health and safety to become the legal guardian of your siblings, Mr. Machroli will help guide you through the petition process and fight for the best interests of your siblings. If you are considering applying for guardianship, contact our Hillside Guardianship Attorney at 708-449-7404 to arrange your free consultation.

As a parent, sibling who applies to a court to become the legal guardian of their sister or brother must be able to provide adequate care to the child – physically, emotionally and financially. This can be difficult to manage at a young age, especially after the recent loss of a parent. In determining whether it is in the best interests of the minor to allow a brother or sister to act as a legal guardian, a court will consider the following: custody is custody of a child, while guardianship refers to non-parental custody of a child. A guardian is a person who is not the parent, but who assumes responsibility for caring for that child. Many children who are about to join the foster care system have spent much of their lives caring for themselves or have been fortunate enough to have an older sibling who has taken on a parenting role in their lives. However, without legal guardianship rights, the child cannot remain in his or her custody. Illinois law allows all teens to have at least one legal guardian, and in the absence of their parents, a close family member can assume this role. Children over the age of 14 may accept applications for guardianship, but those under that age must rely on the court`s decision. In Illinois, anyone who is 18 years of age or older, who is “in their good mind,” who has not been convicted of a serious crime and who is considered acceptable by the court can apply to be the person`s guardian. The qualifications may seem a bit low, but the court`s impression of the guardianship applicant may decide or break your case. Mental illness in itself doesn`t mean your brother doesn`t have the ability to make decisions. For your guardianship application to work, you must prove that a mental illness affects your brother`s ability to make decisions.

Guardianship procedures are complicated. They include many different people with different functions, such as a forensic expert, your lawyer, your lawyer, the judge, and the court clerks. There will be hearings, court documents and the presentation of evidence. If you are considering becoming your brother`s guardian, you can call Albert Goodwin, Esq. at 718-509-9774, 718-509-9774 or 516-777-0647 and request a consultation. This article was written by Jennifer Mueller, JD. Jennifer Mueller is an in-house legal expert at wikiHow. Jennifer reviews, reviews and evaluates the legal content of wikiHow to ensure rigour and accuracy. She received her JD from Indiana University`s Maurer School of Law in 2006. This article cites 7 references that can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been viewed 67,455 times. The court may require the applicant to inform the relatives of his brothers and sisters of the application for guardianship.

This can lead to problems in situations where the child`s parents have died and other family members have been granted custody in a will. If the child`s parents are both deceased, the court will consider whether there is a written will. In cases where one of the parents has custody of a child, a non-parent may have custody of the child. There are common questions about child custody that can affect both guardians and custodial parents. If you feel that your brother`s condition has deteriorated to such an extent that he is no longer able to make personal or financial decisions for himself, you should consider becoming his legal guardian. Initiating a procedure to obtain guardianship of your brother can be a difficult decision, with which your brother may or may not agree and which he may or may not fully understand due to his diminished mental state. The main thing is that you care about your brother`s well-being. In British Columbia, the age of majority (the age at which you are legally an adult) is 19. When children are minors, their guardians are responsible for caring for and educating them. Jennifer joined LegalMatch in 2020 as a legal writer. She holds a J.D. from Cumberland School of Law and has been a member of the Alabama State Bar since 2012.