Well, my answer is yes and no. I say this because guardianship does not necessarily override parental rights, but these rights, however, can be limited or restricted through the law under certain circumstances. Before we can make any assumptions, let’s delve into a better understanding of these two terms and what they mean:
What is Guardianship?
This is a state where legal arrangements are made to transfer the authority and responsibility of decision-making to another person on behalf of a child or an incapacitated adult who cannot take care of themselves. Guardianship applies primarily to children over their parent, but it also applies to adults who are either physically or mentally sick and needs someone close to make certain choices for them.
About Parental Rights?
Parental rights are the rights that come naturally by being a parent to a certain child. It means you own the legal rights of a child simply because you participated in siring the child. Therefore by law, you become responsible for the well-being of the child until they reach the legal age to take care of themselves. Here the parent has full power over their child but is still under a close eye of the law. Now let’s look at the various circumstances to which guardianship can override parental rights:
What Are the Circumstances Under Which Guardianship Can Override Parental Rights?
Parental Incapacity or Illness
This can happen to anyone at any time when sickness of the parent becomes severe and now they need help in taking care of their child. The parent may not be happy to give up their rights but under certain condition, a relative or a close friend is forced to take charge of the child’s responsibilities and maybe even to the sick parents. In some cases, you find that the older child is the one forced to step in the role of a parent and takes full responsibility of the house.
Abandonment or Neglect
It is so sad that this is the leading cause of growth in the number of street children today. This mostly happens when young and naive parents give up their children for the streets simply because they were not ready to become parents and cannot find a way to provide basic needs and care for their child. In this case the law steps in to offer full authority to let’s say the grandma, uncle or any close family relative to take care of the child. In this case now the child is under the government’s rule of law.
Abuse or endangerment
Some parents could be possessed and overwhelmed by life’s trauma and end up lashing out anger on their child. It’s so unfortunate that a child would experience child abuse at the hands of their parents. This comes by regular beatings, being overworked after school and injecting strong traumatic words in the child’s mind where now he can’t find a stable environment to live in. Luckily the law takes cases of child abuse very seriously and may either give a warning to the parent on abusing their child, or withdraw all parental rights and offer guardianship to a person who cares about the well-being of the child.
Incarceration
This is when now the parent faces the wrath of the law after being found guilty of engaging in illegal practices and is now confined in prison for some time. Just like we all know no one is above the law and so in as much as this imprisonment may affect the child left behind, the parent has to serve their sentence. However, the law does not neglect the child but may put the child in a foster home or give a direct family member the authority over the child for the period the parent will be away.
Who Qualifies to Step in The Guardianship Role?
This is a common question where parents affected by guardianship situations ask what criteria is followed for a person to be considered for guardianship. Well, the qualifications for becoming a guardian can vary depending on the jurisdiction and the case’s specific circumstances. Let’s look at some common qualifications for a guardian:
Legal age
Although this may be violated in several cases where a mid-minor child could be forced to take charge under unavoidable circumstances. However, in most jurisdictions, a person must be at least 18 to be appointed guardian.
Mental and physical fitness
This is very straight forward that a guardian must be mentally and physically capable of taking care of the ward and making decisions in their interests. This may involve undergoing a background check, providing references, and demonstrating that they are responsible and trustworthy.
Relationship with the ward
Fact in this is that you cannot just give child’s authority to a total stranger, it’s always important to consider close relatives, close family friends. This is useful in that it gets easier for the child to blend in, rather than having to start a fresh relationship with a new person.
Financial Stability
This is a non-negotiable point when it comes to the well-being of the child. A guardian must be able to demonstrate that they have a stable income source and financially responsible, to ascertain that indeed they are capable of providing for the child’s basic needs which includes shelter, food, clothing, education and medical care.
Willingness to serve
At this point I may say that it’s also difficult to give out a child to someone who is 50/50 or not interested in stepping in responsibly. For instant in a case where there is no other available person to step in after death of parents and the kids have to stay with this person even though they don’t like it. Volunteering to step in as a guardian is a virtue that makes it easier to support the child both emotionally and mentally.
Related Articles; Reasons Why a Parent Can Lose Custody of a Child
Can you Lose Custody for Bad-mouthing the Other Parent
Final Thoughts
If at all you were wondering if guardianship overrides parental rights, my answer to you is yes, but only under extreme circumstances. Termination of parental rights is a serious legal action that is taken only when it is deemed to be in the child’s best interests.
The court’s goal is always to ensure that the child is placed in a safe and stable home with a responsible caregiver who can provide their needs and support for their well-being. After a parent’s rights are terminated, the parent is no longer legally responsible for the child’s care and well-being and may no longer have any contact with the child.
However, in some cases, the court may allow for limited or supervised visitation if it is deemed to be in the child’s best interests.