Guardianship of a Minor Attorney in Manchester, New Hampshire

Under RSA 463:5, any person interested in the welfare of the minor may petition for guardianship of the person, the estate, or both, and a minor who is fourteen or older may petition on their own behalf. Grandparents, aunts and uncles, adult siblings, and close family friends are the most common petitioners. A parent may also nominate a guardian for their child in a will or by consenting in writing to another person’s petition, though the court may decline the nomination for cause.

No. A guardianship of the person gives the guardian the day-to-day powers and responsibilities of a parent, but the parents remain the child’s legal parents. They keep a presumption in favor of liberal visitation unless harm is shown, remain responsible for supporting the child, and may petition to end the guardianship. Only an adoption or a termination of parental rights under RSA 170-C permanently ends a parent’s legal relationship with a child.

When a parent objects to a guardianship sought by a non-parent, RSA 463:8 requires the petitioner to prove by clear and convincing evidence that the child’s best interests require substituting or supplementing parental care to provide for the child’s essential physical and safety needs, or to prevent specific, significant psychological harm to the child. That is a demanding standard. The exception is a grandparent seeking guardianship because of the parent’s substance abuse or dependence, who need only show by a preponderance of the evidence that the guardianship is in the child’s best interests.

Yes. Under RSA 463:7, the court can appoint a guardian ex parte, before the parents are heard, on a sworn affidavit showing that the child will or is likely to suffer immediate or irreparable harm without it. An ex parte order expires after thirty days unless extended, and the person it is issued against may request a hearing, which must be held within five days. The court can also enter temporary orders pending the final hearing, including support and visitation orders, though temporary orders carry no presumptive weight when the merits are decided.

Under RSA 463:15, a guardianship ends by court order, when the minor turns eighteen, on a finding of emancipation, or when a final decree of adoption issues. A parent, the minor if fourteen or older, or any person interested in the child’s welfare may petition to terminate it earlier. The petitioner generally must show by a preponderance of the evidence that substituted care is no longer necessary and that termination will not adversely affect the child’s psychological well-being. If the guardianship was established by the parent’s consent, the burden shifts to the guardian to prove by clear and convincing evidence that it is still needed, unless it was granted to a grandparent because of the parent’s substance abuse.

Guardianship of the person of a minor is heard in the Circuit Court Family Division under RSA 490-D:2. If the petition seeks guardianship of both the person and the estate of the same child, the case stays with the Probate Division. In Manchester, the Family Division sits at 35 Amherst Street. Approval of a minor’s injury settlement is handled by the Superior or District Court where the claim is pending, which in turn requires proof that a guardian of the estate has been appointed.

A guardian of the person has the powers of a parent and is responsible for the child’s care. A guardian ad litem is a neutral person the court appoints in a particular case to investigate and report on what is in the child’s best interests. The guardian ad litem has none of the rights of a general guardian, does not take custody of the child, and is not the child’s advocate in the way a lawyer is for a client. Parties to a case with a guardian ad litem generally still need their own counsel.