GUARDIAN

A "Guardian" is a person lawfully appointed by the courts and invested with the power and responsibility to take care of a person (and ussually the person's finances) who is a minor or otherwise found incapable of caring for him or herself. One may only "nominate" a guardian for his or her minor children by will. The final decision is made by the courts although they typically abide by the wishes of the parents. Furthermore, as a general rule, if one parent dies, the remaining parent takes custody of any minor children regardless of whether the deceased parent had custody prior to death. Thus, the selection of a "guardian" by will generally only applies to the situation where both parents die prior to the time that their children reach the age of majority. DISCLAIMER The above is provided for informational purposes only and is NOT to be relied upon as legal advice. This service is not a substitute for the advice of an attorney and we encourage users to have all documents created on our site reviewed by an attorney. No attorney-client relationship is established by use of our online legal forms system and the user is not to rely upon any information found anywhere on our site. THESE FORMS ARE SOLD ON AN "AS IS" BASIS WITH NO WARRANTIES OR GUARANTIES. If you wish personal assistance in deciding whether the document found on our site is right for you or desire representations and warranties upon the legality of the document you are purchasing in the jurisdiction you will be using it, contact an attorney licensed to practice law in your state.