If you have young children, you may worry about what will happen to them if you become too sick to take care of them, or if you die. There are steps you can take to make sure your children are taken care of by someone you know and trust. However, you must fill out some important legal forms to make sure people know which person you want to care for your children.<\/p>\n
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This post\u00a0will explain to you the steps you must take. As you scroll down, you will see many \u201cFAQs\u201d (frequently asked questions). These are the most common questions people have when they want someone to care for their children after they die or if they become very sick. If you do not see your question answered in the list below, you should call a lawyer. You may have an issue that is too complicated to handle on your own.<\/p>\n
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You may not recognize or understand some of the legal language that is used to explain how the law works in Pennsylvania. These words will be in bold <\/strong>and their meanings will be explained so you can become familiar with them.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n If you have sole custody<\/strong> of your children, you can fill out a form which will tell people who you want to take care of them after you die or become too sick to care for them. Sole custody<\/strong> means that you are the only person legally responsible for your children and allowed to make decisions for them.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The form you must fill out is called a standby guardianship.<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n A standby guardianship<\/strong> is a special legal document (form) which gives a message to the court that you want a specific person to take care of your children after you die or become too sick to care for them. The person you choose to take care of them is called the guardian. <\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n No. Pennsylvania law requires that you fill out special forms that the court will recognize.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Yes. You can choose a person to temporarily take over responsibility for your children during times when you are very sick. This person is called a co-guardian<\/strong>. Your co-guardian<\/strong> does not get custody. He or she can only make decisions about your children when something happens which makes you unable to care for them. This is called a triggering event<\/strong>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n There are two types of triggering events<\/strong>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n You must fill out a designation form<\/strong>. You can find an example here<\/u>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n No. You cannot choose a guardian<\/strong> for your child if you share custody with someone else. You must go to family court and ask for sole custody <\/strong>first. When you ask the court for sole custody<\/strong>, you are asking the court to allow you to make decisions for your child without the other parent\u2019s agreement or permission.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Sometimes. You can choose someone who is not the child\u2019s parent only if one of these four is true:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n You must be prepared to prove to the court that one of the above is true. Make sure you have documents that can prove what you tell the court. For example, if your child\u2019s other parent has died, you should be ready to give their birth certificate to the court. If you tell the court that the child\u2019s other parent has given their permission for you to choose someone else as the child\u2019s guardian<\/strong>, you must have a piece of paper signed by them saying that.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Yes. You or your chosen guardian<\/strong> must file (give to the court) something called a petition for approval<\/strong>. The court will read your standby guardianship<\/strong> paper and decide whether the person you chose to take care of your child is the best person to do the job. The court will usually agree with the person you choose.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The petition for approval<\/strong> can be filed either before or after the triggering event<\/strong>. (Remember, a triggering event<\/strong> is something that happens which prevents you from taking care of your child, like dying or becoming very sick.) In many cases, it is a good idea to give the court your papers before you die or become very sick.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n It is often a good idea to file a petition for approval<\/strong> and give the court your standby guardianship <\/strong>papers before you die or become very sick. This is because you will be allowed to tell the court your story and why you think that the guardian <\/strong>you chose is the best person to take care of your child. Here\u2019s an example:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Let\u2019s say a mother has sole custody <\/strong>of her daughter, Lisa. That means that only the mother is legally allowed to make decisions for Lisa. Lisa\u2019s father is not a good parent and has been abusive in the past. The mother wants her sister to take care of Lisa after she dies. The mother creates a standby guardianship <\/strong>document, choosing her sister as the guardian<\/strong>. However, Lisa\u2019s father is angry that he does not have custody<\/strong> and wants to have Lisa back after the mother dies.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n It would be a good idea for the mother to file a petition for approval<\/strong> with the court BEFORE she dies. This way, the mother will be allowed to testify <\/strong>(meaning that she can tell her story) about how Lisa\u2019s father is abusive and how he would be unfit to care for Lisa. The court will listen carefully to what the mother says and will make a decision that it believes is in the best interests of Lisa.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n If the mother does not file a petition for approval before she dies or becomes very sick, it will be easier for the father to get custody of Lisa. This is because the mother will not be able to tell the court about the father\u2019s history of abuse.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n If you do not ask the court to approve your standby guardianship<\/strong> before you die or become very sick, the person you chose as guardian<\/strong> must give the papers to the court and file a petition for approval<\/strong>. The guardian<\/strong> must ask the court to agree with your decision choosing them as the best person to take care of your child. The guardian<\/strong> will be able to make decisions for the child if you die or become very sick, but only for 60 days after that. Without the court\u2019s approval, the guardian <\/strong>may no longer be able to make decisions for or take care of your child after 60 days.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The court will schedule a hearing<\/strong>. A hearing<\/strong> is a period of time that you will be allowed to go to court and tell a judge why you believe they should agree with who you chose to be guardian<\/strong>. The judge does not have to agree with you, but will pay careful attention to what you have to say. If you have sole custody<\/strong> of the child, the judge will very often approve the person you chose to be guardian<\/strong>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n If you have already filed a petition for approval<\/strong> with the court, you must ask the court to withdraw the petition for approval<\/strong>. This means that you must ask the court to throw away the standby guardianship <\/strong>papers you gave it before. You must do this in writing.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n If you have not filed a petition for approval<\/strong>, you only need to notify the person you chose to be guardian<\/strong> that you no longer want them to be guardian<\/strong>. You must do this in writing. After that, simply throw away the standby guardianship<\/strong> papers.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Yes, but there are important reasons why it is better to use a standby guardianship <\/strong>instead of a will. After you die, your will must be probated<\/strong>. This means that the will must be given to the court, and the court must approve it. Usually, courts will approve what you have written in your will. However, it can often take many months after your death before the court has time to approve your will. During those months, the person you chose to be guardian<\/strong> in your will might not have the legal ability to make decisions for your children.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n With a standby guardianship<\/strong>, the guardian<\/strong> you choose will have legal responsibility for your children and can make decisions for them immediately after you die or become very sick.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n It depends. If you don\u2019t live in Pennsylvania, you need to find information on how the law works in your state. The information here is specific to Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n No, but it may change the steps you need to take to make sure that your guardian<\/strong> can begin making decisions for your children after you die or become very sick. You should call a lawyer for help if your chosen guardian<\/strong> lives outside of Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n You can click on the link below. The AIDS Law Project has prepared a detailed guide about standby guardianships<\/strong> in Pennsylvania. Please keep in mind that their guide is written for lawyers.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n\n
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