Family & Safety
Worried about doing this on your own? You may be able to get free legal help.
This Easy Form helps you ask the court to become a legal guardian of a minor child. You can also ask the court to appoint a co-guardian along with you.
The Easy Form does not deliver your forms. You can download the forms and instructions at the end of the program.
Learn more about getting guardianship of a child.This program will help you make your court forms. It will ask questions for you to answer. At the end of the program, you will get completed court forms and instructions. You can save and print them, or the program can email them to you.
Form completion time: 20 minutes to 30 minutes
You will be able to save your work in the middle of the program.
The interview and forms are in English.
Can I use this program?
To use this program, you must:
- Be at least 18 years old,
- Live in the United States,
- Be of sound mind,
- Not be under a court-ordered guardianship yourself, and
- Not have a felony conviction that involves harm or threat to a child.
In addition, you must be willing and able to care for the child, make decisions for them, or make decisions about their money and property.
Note: If you have a felony conviction that does not involve harm or threat to a child, you may still be appointed if the judge finds it to be in the child's best interest.
What do I need first?
To complete this program, you will need to know:
- Name, birthdate, and address of the child,
- Names and addresses of the child's nearest relatives and the person who has custody of the child,
- Approximate value of child's estate (property) and annual income from all sources,
- Your name, address, age, occupation, telephone, email address, and criminal history (and of the co-guardian, if any),
- Details about other court cases involving the child and their parents,
- Information about the parents, such as most recent contact with child, reasons why they are unable to care for the child, or date of death, and
- Details about any current or previous standby or short-term guardians of the child.
What documents will this create?
This program makes the forms listed below. The forms you get will depend on your answers.
- How to File for Guardianship of a Minor Instructions
- Petition for Guardianship of a Minor
- Additional Relatives
- Additional Cases
- Oath of Guardian
- Oath and Bond of Guardian
- Consent to Guardianship of Minor and Appearance
- Nomination of Guardian by Minor
- Notice of Hearing on Petition for Guardianship of a Minor
- Additional Proof of Delivery - Minor Guardianship
- Statement in Support of Notice by Publication
- Minor Guardianship Publication Information for Newspaper
- Order Appointing Plenary Guardian of Minor
Worried about doing this on your own? You may be able to get free legal help.
