You must be appointed the legal guardian through a court order before you will have the legal right to act on his behalf.
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In the state of Florida, is there such thing as temporary guardianship form that can be signed and notarized by the parent without going to court and how is that different from a power of attorney of a minor child?
It’s for my fiancée's son. My fiancée is incarcerated and so is the minor child who got direct filed. We wanted to know if we can do a temporary guardianship without going to court, just it being notarized by the father. And how is that different from a power of attorney of a minor child?
Are you seeking this arrangement for a specific period of time or under certain circumstances?
Specific period of time
Is there anything else the Family Lawyer should know before I connect you? Rest assured they'll be able to help with temporary guardianship for a specific period of time.
No
Thank you for choosing AskaLawyer! My name is Jessica and I am a licensed attorney that will be assisting you with your question. I am reviewing your question and will be providing a response momentarily.
I am so sorry there is a child custody issue. No, there is no such thing as a guardianship outside of the courts. It must go through the courts and have a court order issued. Does the father have sole custody?
So in the state of Florida, there’s no such thing as temporary guardianship and him notarizing it since he’s incarcerated and so is the minor child that got direct filed as an adult and the mother is unable to be found.
No, what I am saying is there is no guardianship outside of court. You have to file a Petition with the court.
What else can we do? The father is willing to sign it.
Does the father have sole custody through a court order?
The mother lost her rights and isn’t able to be located and yes, he has all his rights.
Basically, the minor child is incarcerated, got direct filed as an adult. He has no one to act on his behalf because his father is incarcerated. I’m his stepmother. I’m the only one, but I can’t do anything right now.
The mother can’t be located, so the judge deemed it as abandoning the child.
This means you will want to file a Petition for Plenary Guardianship of Minor Child in the county where they are a permanent resident.
They are both incarcerated, the minor child and father. The minor is direct filed as an adult
You must be appointed the legal guardian through a court order before you will have the legal right to act on his behalf.
You should have no problem obtaining the guardianship.
So power of attorney won’t work?
How do I go about that and does his father still have his rights correct
A guardianship is better if the father will be incarcerated for a while. Here is a Minor Child POA which is valid for 12 months.
It didn’t take his rights away, though, correct?
What should I put as the relation to the child?
Stepmother.
Okay
And I can’t find that one forms to prefill.
Are you having issues downloading the form provided?
I have it I just have to print it and fill it out and when I send it to the jail to get notarized when it gets sent back me I then go get it notarized on my behalf?
Yes, once you have filled out the form, send it to the jail for the father to sign and have it notarized there.
After it's returned to you, you will also need to sign it in front of a notary public to complete the process.
Make sure to keep a copy for your records and provide a copy to any relevant parties who may need it.
Please let me know if you have further questions.
Thank you.
And that gives me full authorization to act on child’s behalf?
Yes.
OK
Thank you.
