Confusion Conservatorship

Britney Spears Sheds Light on the Complexity

And what about conservatorship of a minor?

No matter how old our children get, we still see them as our child running around in diapers and asking to watch more cartoons. It’s hard to watch our children grow up. It happens just way too fast.

With pop star Britney Spears is back in the news, and all the attention on someone else handling her finances and managing her life, raises a lot of questions on what parents can take control of after our children reach the age of 18. Britney Spears had a mental breakdown with one instance of her shaving her head. This situation raised a lot of questions on her ability for her to take care of herself. We do not know what goes on in her personal life but social media and news articles provide a confusing idea of what a conservatorship is about.

There is a whirl wind of news articles and blogs posting about freeing Britney. With all this attention of conservatorships, it becomes easy for the public to be misled about these types of cases and it also raises a lot of questions.

A judge ruled that Britney Spears‘ father, Jamie Spears, and Bessemer Trust will have equal power over her finances, according to court documents obtained by ET. So, this means that a company and a person can control another person’s finances after they reach the age of 18.

What is a Conservatorship?

Under Ohio law, a guardianship (conservatorship) is a legal proceeding when family members or others ask the probate court to protect someone who appears to be incompetent. A guardian has to be court appointed. A guardianship can take a look at a person’s mental health and physical health.

There are specific court documents and forms that need to be filled out and filed with the probate court. A court must appoint someone who will act their best interest.

A guardianship can be voluntary or involuntary. A competent adult is more properly known as a conservatorship. Once appointed by the court, a guardian/conservator is answerable to the court for providing proper care and management of the ward’s affairs in the ward’s best interests. . In some situations, adults with handicaps and cannot take care of themselves or finances may need a legal guardian to care for them and act on their behalf.

What’s the difference between a Guardianship of a Minor and Child Custody?

Guardianship of a Minor:

At our office, there is usually a reason that a person is seeking to be a guardian of a minor. We usually need the reasoning in order to know if seeking a guardianship of minor interferes with parental rights. Guardianships are usually relatives who seek to take care of a minor when a parent cannot do so.

The main role of a legal guardian of a minor is to act in the child’s best interests when the child’s parents cannot do so. Legal guardians are usually relatives such as an aunt, uncle, or grandparent.

Child Custody:

Custody of a minor usually is granted to the child’s parents. There is a wide range of custody situations and rights. This is a complex process and it is very critical to speak to an Attorney to help explain what child custody options are available to parents who are getting divorce or separating.

If parents have custody they do not need to seek to be a guardian or their minor child. Their custody paperwork that is filed with the Court will allocate which parent is responsible for what.

A guardianship of a minor is usually sought by a third party. It is sought because a minor child needs someone else to make legal decisions for them when the parents cannot. In a guardianship, parents retain their parental rights and responsibilities.

The main difference between the two is that custody focuses more on the parents’ rights and the guardianship involves finding help for people who are not mentally or physically capable of taking care of themselves. With a minor guardianship, usually the parents are not able to take care of the child.

Please take notice that the information contained in this article is a brief overview and should be construed for informational purposes only. Legal issues are very complex and it’s very important that this article is not construed as legal advice.