Establish Guardianship With Care And Confidence

Guardianships are, by nature, family affairs in most cases. If the guardianship is for a minor, it is often because the parents are unable to carry out their parental roles and someone else needs to step in to take their place. If the guardianship is for an adult, it is because that person cannot care for themselves properly and they need protection. In these cases, which often involve adult children with special needs, parents may simply use guardianship to legally continue the rights and responsibilities they had while the child was a minor. It is also possible for nonparents to become guardians of adult children.

Your attorney at Zachary D. Smith, LLC, in Cincinnati, will help you understand the necessary legal processes for establishing a guardianship in probate court and help you achieve your goal. If there are family conflicts associated with the guardianship, our background as family law attorneys will serve you well to resolve the contested guardianship. We have experience addressing sensitive legal matters involving differences of opinion within families.

Guardianships For Children With Special Needs

You may be the parents (or a parent) of a child with special needs who is approaching age 18. Once they have reached the age of maturity, they will need your protection in new ways. Becoming the guardian(s) of your child with disabilities is an important part of your family’s journey.

Alternatively, you may be a grandparent, aunt, uncle or caregiver who will assume protective responsibilities for a minor with special needs. We will help you navigate all necessary legal steps regarding the parents, the court and the child. We will advise you on how to navigate the road ahead with regard to school, doctors and other members of the community.

Divorce And Contested Guardianship

Parents who are legal guardians of an adult child or who wish to obtain guardianship over an adult or soon-to-be adult child, will have unique issues to deal with during the divorce process.

For divorcing parents who share guardianship over an adult child, it is important to know that divorce does not automatically affect guardianship. Unless one or both of the parents takes separate legal action to change it, guardianship will remain the same. If one parent wishes to contest the other’s guardianship or if both parents agree to make changes to the guardianship, that needs to be handled in probate court.

For divorcing parents who have not yet established guardianship over an adult child, that should be handled separately. While comparable to child custody in that guardianship establishes the rights and responsibilities of the parents, guardianship is dramatically different from a legal standpoint. Guardianship matters are handled by the probate court, as opposed to child custody matters, which are handled in family court alongside the divorce.

Ask Us About Any Guardianship Issue

In addition to helping clients fulfill legal requirements to be guardians for children, we do the same when elderly people and adults with disabilities need care and protection. For information on guardianship, conservatorship and/or disputes related to any such needs in your family, turn to our experienced lawyer at Zachary D. Smith, LLC. We thrive on helping people solve problems.

To schedule a consultation, call 513-275-5367 or send an email inquiry.