Parents' rights in minor guardianship
In a minor guardianship case, the guardian may ask a judge to restrict your contact with your child and limit your ability to make decisions for them. Before that happens, you have important rights to take part in the case and object to the appointment of a guardian. You can also ask the judge to appoint a lawyer for you at public expense if you can’t afford one. (Forms and instructions)
1. Fast facts
What is minor guardianship?
Washington’s State’s minor guardianship law started in January 2021. The law created a court process to authorize someone to take custody of a child under age 18 who isn’t their own.
If someone besides another parent or the State wants to get legal custody of your children, they must file a minor guardianship case. Before 2021, they would have filed a non-parent custody case.
A court order of minor guardianship creates a legal relationship between the children and an adult whom the court appoints to be their guardian. Then the guardian can take custody of your children; provide care, education, health, safety and welfare for the children; and consent to medical treatment for the children. The parents may have to pay child support to the guardian.
Why would someone file for guardianship of my children?
That person thinks guardianship would be in your children’s best interests and that you and the other parent can’t or won’t take care of the children (you're unwilling to parent). If you receive guardianship papers, carefully read the Petition to find out what the claim is.
Guardianship doesn’t end (terminate) your parental rights, and it doesn’t have to last until the children are grown. Some parents may even agree that someone else should care for their children. But not everyone will or should agree to guardianship.
If you’re the parent and you agree that someone else should care for your children, think about giving them Power of Attorney (POA) for parents, instead of guardianship. This cheap, effective alternative takes much less time when everyone agrees. It avoids court and doesn’t take away your rights as a parent. You can cancel (revoke) this power of attorney at any time.
Even if you think guardianship is the best option, we strongly recommend you talk to a lawyer before signing a Parent’s Consent to Minor Guardianship. If you can’t afford a lawyer and you’re not sure what to do, you can ask the judge to appoint a lawyer for you at public expense. You can talk to the lawyer about your options before making a final decision.
If the judge gives someone else guardianship, can I ever get my kids back?
If your situation has improved, you can go back to court to ask a judge to end (terminate) the guardianship. If you can show that the original reason for the guardianship no longer exists, the judge should end the guardianship unless the judge finds that ending it would be harmful to the children and that their interest in continuing the guardianship outweighs your interest in restoring your parental rights.
Even if you can’t prove the guardianship should end, you may be able to change the guardianship to have more visits with the children or replace the guardian with someone else.