Guardianship
Guardianships for children and adults can be useful tools to assist a family through difficult times. Our Madison family law attorneys have experience handling both types of guardianships, whether they are contested or uncontested.
Practice Areas
- Adoption
- Appeals
- Assisted Reproduction
- Child Custody, Placement, and Support
- Child in Need of Protection and/or Services (CHIPS)
- Collaborative Divorce
- Divorce and Dissolution
- Foster Parent Rights
- Grandparent Rights
- Guardianship
- Immigration
- International Adoption
- International Family Law
- International Surrogacy
- LGBTQ+ Family Formation and Protection
- LGBTQ+ Family Law
- Marital Property and Cohabitation Agreements
- Mediation
- Parent Coordination
- Paternity
- School Law
- Surrogacy
- Transgender Law
What is Child Guardianship?
A guardianship establishes a legal relationship between a child and an adult, but it does not end the legal relationship between the child and his or her legal parents. With a guardianship, the guardian can enroll a child in school, make medical decisions, and often, include the child on the guardian’s health insurance plan. A guardianship does not, however, take away a legal parent’s ability to also do those things for their child.
A guardianship can give parents support when they need help in caring for their child. The parent might be unavailable due to illness, travel, incarceration, or circumstances beyond his or her control. A guardianship is a way for other adults to help the child as well as the parent.
Adult Guardianship
Deciding whether to seek a guardianship or protective placement of an adult can be one of the most difficult decisions a family member can face. When a loved one loses the ability to care for themselves, make decisions, or protect themselves or their property, it is sometimes necessary for an alternate decision-maker – usually a family member – to become guardian. Sometimes, an adult may even need to be placed in a protective environment.
Based in Madison, Wisconsin, our guardianship attorneys are sensitive to the delicate balance between an individual’s need for autonomy and a family’s concerns for their loved one’s safety and well-being. We help family members who are seeking guardianships and protective placements, while preserving the independence and dignity of the individual in every way possible.