Guardianship Complications

There are many reasons for filing for guardianship in Massachusetts. The most common reason for a person to seek to be the guardian of a child occurs when the parents of that child (or children) cannot provide adequate care for the child and the rights of the parents need to be suspended temporarily or permanently. Sometimes the person seeking to be a guardian may be a grandparent, family friend, or other third party.

The problem that sometimes occurs is that the person seeking guardianship may have some criminal, behavioral or other issues that make approving guardianship a concern for a Massachusetts Probate and Family Court judge. When a judge has concerns about a potential guardian for a child, the judge may order a Guardian Ad Litem to serve as an investigator to assist the judge in vetting the potential guardian.

A Guardian Ad Litem will conduct an investigation of the potential guardian and report back to the court. Sometimes, the results of the report are unfavorable. Having an attorney with you in court to assist with explaining past criminal, behavioral, substance abuse or other investigatory findings is a must. Our attorney will assist you in navigating the court and hearings that accompany a guardianship application.

When a Guardianship Petition is Denied – Appeal Immediately

Guardianship of Tara, 97 Mass. App. Ct. 11, is a cautionary tale of what can happen when a guardianship application is not appealed. In Tara, the maternal grandmother filed a petition for guardianship of her two grandchildren which were in the custody of the Department of Children and Families (DCF). The Massachusetts Juvenile court judge denied the guardianship application of the grandmother. Unfortunately, the grandmother did not appeal the decision to deny the application. Later, the children and the father of the children appealed the previous decision of the Massachusetts Juvenile Court judge that denied the grandmother’s application for guardianship, however, the grandmother did not take part in this appeal. The result of the children and father’s appeal was that the Appeals Court held that because the grandmother did not appeal on her original guardianship application and because she was not a party to the appeal of filed by the father and children, she could not have her request for guardianship reconsidered by the court.

The bottom line regarding the denial of a guardianship petition in Massachusetts is that if there is any basis for an appeal of the Juvenile Court decision, that appeal should be timely to avoid the result in Tara. Our office will help guide you through a guardianship petition so that you can navigate the Juvenile Court effectively, hopefully avoiding further complications which might prevent an appeal.

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