Your Rights as a Guardian

Author: Angela Armes

Many adults find themselves as guardian to the children of their partner who has perhaps passed away or who is no longer medically fit to look after their children. As a guardian, you have to make decisions in the best interest of the children. With this in mind it is worth knowing what the legalities of being a guardian are?

Being a Legal Guardian

If you are made a legal guardian, you are responsible for the wellbeing and safety of those children under your guardianship. This includes making sure they are fed, clothed, sent to school and are looked after in the same way they would be if their parent or parents were around to do so.

As a guardian, you will be called upon to making decisions that will directly affect how the children are schooled, how they are taught the difference between right and wrong, and how they are supervised during their lives up to the age of adulthood.

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Becoming a Legal Guardian

In order to become a legal guardian, you must first undergo assessment by Social Services who will submit reports and their findings to the Family Proceedings Court. You will be assessed to see how you interact and deal with the child or children, how you plan to support them and also how you plan to ensure that their upbringing continues in a manner befitting that as desired by the child’s parents.

Social Services and the Family Proceedings Court must be sure that you can cope with becoming a legal guardian and that the children are happy with you as their guardian.

Your situation may be slightly different. ask a question below ↓ and our editorial team will reply with our advice.

Family Proceedings Court

This is a court that deals specifically with aspects of family life and the welfare of children. With settings a little less formal than those of a traditional criminal court, the Family Proceedings Court is designed to rule in favour of what is best for the children.

If you seek to become a legal guardian – either as the result of a parent’s request or because you think it is the right thing to do – you will be asked to appear before the Family Proceedings Court and explain why you feel you can uphold the family values and parental responsibilities initially charged to the parent.

Your Rights as Guardian

If the Family Proceedings Court issues you with custody of the children in accordance with the wishes of the parent and the findings of Social Services, you have as much right as you would if you were the children’s natural parents. You are responsible first and foremost with their upbringing and also their grounding in moral responsibility, and you are legally obliged to be consulted on any issues relating to the children’s education and general upbringing.

For more information on becoming a legal guardian, consult with a solicitor who specialises in family law and with Social Services who can provide you with advice on how to proceed.

The Next Step

Now that you have read through the advice above, you might want to put it into practice. Our Parental Rights Checker lets you check your legal rights as a parent on education, health and welfare decisions. Try it now →

Showing 20 of 224 questions

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Madz 09/07/2021 at 1:26 pm

As a person who’s had sgo on my nieces from a young age I think that it is better for them if they live with you long term however when they turn of age they cannot get housed . If they are older they are better off being fostered as they (if you want them to ) will receive help in being rehoused with a grant to help with furnishings .

mumsy to all.x 11/03/2021 at 8:49 pm

i am taking care of a 14yr old girl, as her parents have kicked her out of her family home .
they have told her that i can foster her if i want which they have consented for me to do so .
I would like to make it a more permanent thing and apply for legal guardianship for her through the law side of things she also wants me to now, the thing is i am a single mother of 5 children 2 of whom have left home as they are grown up i have 3 still home with me ,
i have given her a bedroom of her own and i am getting her back into school too .
My Question is do you think i would be able to apply for a residents order for her to live here on a more permanent basis

Al 08/03/2021 at 8:51 am

My son went to live with a woman who had a 3 month old baby boy. The biological father of the boy absconded when he was told she was pregnant. My son lived with her for 3 years and they split up . During this time and from then on the boy who is now 7 called my son daddy and my son looked on him as his own, with the full approval of the boys mother The boy looks on my wife and I as his grandparents. My son has now found a new girlfriend and they have a house. My son and the boys biological mother share all things to do with the boy, he spends 3 days living at my sons house and 4 days with his mother. My sons fiancée is in full agreement with the arrangement, and looks upon him as her step son. My son and his fiancée have no children of there own they are 32 and 27 years old . occasionally the boy stays with my wife and I at our house. Would my son who has the approval of the boys mother be able to get legal guardianship of the boy.

Dinkydee 23/09/2020 at 11:01 am

Hi, my husband and i separated last year, divorced this year, we were granted an SGO for my great Nephew in 2015 when he was just 4 months old, he's now 5, my question is how do i get my ex husband removed from the guardianship? he has shown no real interest for my nephew and has absolutely no interest in him now, i get no financial support from him either.

Donna

Nik 20/09/2020 at 11:26 am

Hi my wife has an sgo on 4siblings non blood related they are previously lac,since getting married they have reassessed my wife’s finances and have taken half the allowance from her and taken my wage pound for pence,I believe they cannot make me financially responsible for these children as I did not sign any sgo ,could you advise me whether this is correct as now we are financially struggling thanks in advance

Boxie 03/08/2019 at 7:03 pm

Guardianship order for my grandson who is 17 and wants to go back to his mother. It is his wish and I any happy for this to happen. Is this legal

Nanny 05/06/2019 at 5:30 pm

Have 16 yr old grandaughter on special guardian order,see,s mum regularly,now wants to go back and live with mum,I am justifyally not wanting this to happen, where do I stand with this.grandaughter thinks now she is 16 that she can do as she likes,as that is the law I told her this is not the case.

sohel 25/05/2019 at 2:21 am

my wife is an international student in UK. I want to show dependents living cost from my bank account from Bangladesh, my home country, UKVI wants a legal guardian to do that. so can I be her guardian and show my bank account for living cost?

gaffa 24/01/2019 at 6:42 am

me and my husband have had 2 of our grandchildren for 3 years age 5 and 9 lastfeb 2018 we where given a sgs un till the children are 18 we have had 5 social workers to gardians sees not my daugther the kds mother i complayed to level two about locai athoroty she see the kds 2 hours a month supavised by a social workers her and her family are making teroble allagasions all the time every week and all have been found to be untrue im so stressed dont no what to do its been like this for 3 years she is a druggie drinks all the time and im now getting horrible messages of her family non of her family can supaviser her with the kids iv been attacked by her at sure start on ctvwhat can i do can take any more the kids are great good kids bright now they go to school very settled loved very much poor kids with a mother like her what do i do

Dagooroo 15/11/2018 at 1:18 pm

Hello my names Chris I feel I maybe under a guardianship Ialthough I feel a lot if it is nonsense I want to find out what is going in regards to falsifications against I've already noted my clinical files not one word of truth well mostly and my doctors what's going on there thing I had wrong with me for years gone ?, no record of them my criminal records I already noted something ain't right I move got convictions against my name I've never done,?, and as for all the mickey mouse Court cases contradictoions galore I want to submit requests but don't know know how to please advise I feel I'm under a false care order here

Louise 23/10/2018 at 11:45 pm

My husband and I are about to be give an SGO on a baby girl, we have had her since she was 12 weeks old. We are fostering her at the moment as we are both foster carers and originally we was told we could adopt her and change her name but as court proceedings progressed the sw advised it would be best to go with the SGO as that's what the caffcass officer was hoping for as I was related to the baby's father (My cousin, he was adopted) but was told that once the SGO was granted in 2 years I could apply to adopt her and it would go through straight away on an open adoption. Is this correct? And if it is after the 2 years how do we begin the proceedings as we have already been told we won't have any dealing with ss once the SGO goes through. We have also been calling this little girl by a different name as we was under the impression we could change it, how do we stand on this? Thank you in advance for your advise x

Big H 21/10/2018 at 3:26 pm

My 17 yr old son is under special guardianship order and carer has kicked him him out due to him getting into trouble in every aspect of his life and they can't trust him in the house as he steals everything and even stole their car keys. He also has a youth record. The carer said he needs to change and be responsible before being allowed home . Are they legally allowed to kick him out? I haven't seen my son in 6 yrs but not out of choice. He has now contacted me asking for financial help. I don't live near him and need some advice of where he should go for help. He has ADHD and emotional problems some which are my fault. He thinks he can work but if he isn't in education I didn't think he could. Any advice would be great. I feel helpless

Clare 03/10/2018 at 3:23 pm

My husband and I have been special guardians for 3 of my daughters children for nearly 5 years. My daughter wants to get her children back and she has made many positive changes to her life style. I agree they should go back with her but what do we do now. How much do these costs usually amount to . Many thanks

LawAndParents Editor 07/08/2018 at 1:58 pm

If you think the your guardian might be at risk by being allowed unsupervised action, you should talk to a professional, such as a social worker. They will be able to advise you whether this would be right for the child or whether precautions (supervision etc) should be taken. State your reasons for disagreeing clearly and calmly...always in the best interests of the child.

STAN 06/08/2018 at 7:35 am

I have been a legal guardian to my wife's daughters son for the last 4 years
The natural mother has drug/alcohol and violent tendencies.
My wife now want's the natural mother to have unsupervised access to the child which I disagree with
Where do I stand legally in this matter?

jessy 13/07/2018 at 2:19 pm

I am the childs legal guardian and maternal grandparent and i suffered a withdrawal from prescribed medication the child was placed back with mum as a temp arrangement and now im not allowed contact or allowed to exercise any of my rights and obligations laid out in the court order the child was in my care for 11 of the 13 years

Emzy 13/07/2018 at 12:16 am

Hi I have parental rights and responsibilities and a residency order for my niece since the day she was born. There was never a father put on her birth certificate now my sister has married and put her husband on the birth certificate and done a name change without my permission as the form asks if everyone with rights has signed the form. No dna test has been done.

LawAndParents Editor 22/06/2018 at 11:35 am

You need to find someone who can give you individual support. Go back to your GP for help with your mental health problems and give Family Rights Group a call on 0808 801 0366 for help on the steps you can take to get more contact with your son.

Virgolady 21/06/2018 at 2:37 am

Social services took me to court because I am under the mental health depression and I’m a hoarder I am on the waiting list for mental health help from mind , they have removed my 7 year old son from my car and put him in my daughters care until he is 18 yrs I have taken my own steps in getting better , I have cleared my home of all my hoarding I bettered my son schooling from 62% and got it to 91% thing where looking on the up for me and my son , now he has gone I can only see him once a month being supervised, pls can anyone give me advice for what I can do to get him back...

Titch 23/05/2018 at 5:36 pm

My husband and myself have put ourselves forward to be a connected persons foster carers as my baby cousin was into care, we have undergone out assessments such we have our last one in june . The reason I'm posting is for some advice mainly as we had our assessment yesterday in which the social worker was able to give us some light on were out application was heading well it's not good news as she is saying she cannot give a positive recommendation to the panel as she has concerns one in which is my fertility as after having two eptopics which was three years ago she feels it is something that has affected my life and will continue to do so. I for one myself have learned to live with the losses and accept that i may not be able to have children naturally but it seems she has more of an issue with it then myself, so my question is can she use that against me would it be best if I wrote a letter to present at panel in my own words how I have managed to cope with the losses what do I do, i really don't want to loose my cousin knowing my husband and I are very capable of looking after her if her father losses in court

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