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A Voice for Children in Guardianship Proceedings
Author(s) -
McGuire Mollie
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
family court review
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.171
H-Index - 4
eISSN - 1744-1617
pISSN - 1531-2445
DOI - 10.1111/fcre.12536
Subject(s) - legal guardian , probate , neglect , law , face (sociological concept) , political science , dependency (uml) , juvenile court , criminology , psychology , sociology , juvenile delinquency , psychiatry , engineering , social science , systems engineering
This paper argues that children in guardianship proceedings—specifically cases with allegations of abuse, neglect, or dependency; and cases that are contested—should be appointed a GAL. Many children in guardianship cases in probate court face issues similar to those that children in juvenile court face, and yet, they are denied the right to an advocate as well as many other important due process protections that are available in juvenile court. Critics of probate court have suggested a variety of solutions, including outright abolition of guardianship cases in probate court.7 Because wholesale reform such as abolition may not be financially or politically feasible, this paper suggest a smaller, more concrete solution—namely, the appointment of a GAL for children in guardianship proceedings when allegations of abuse, neglect, or dependency are present, or when the guardianship is contested.