Only a court can appoint a guardian. However, a person can identify who they want to be the guardian for their children in one of the ways described below. Designating a guardian or standby guardian does not affect a parent's legal relationship to the child, and a parent may revoke consent to guardianship at any time by filing a document with the court that named the guardian. Naming a guardian in a will does not guarantee that the court will appoint that person guardian, but it is proof of the parent's wishes, which the court will consider. For more information about wills, see Wills and Advance Directives .
Guardianship goes into effect immediately once a court grants it.
A standby guardianship was designed especially for people facing chronically debilitating illness. The guardianship goes into effect immediately if any of these things happens, and is good for 90 days, during which the named guardian must go into Family or Surrogate's Court and ask to be named guardian. For information on going to court to seek appointment of a guardian, call South Brooklyn Legal Services and request a copy of our pamphlet, How to File a Guardianship proceeding in Kings County Family Court. See our Publications for additional publications. A temporary care and custody agreement is not a legally binding document.