Is Legal Guardianship Necessary?

[kunjoe]

What is the name of your state? Virginia

My wife and I have close family friends that live overseas in the Federated States of Micronesia. Citizens of this country do not need visas to live, work, or attend school in the United States.

Because of the terrible education system in Micronesia and our desire to help, 3 children, aged 12-17, of our friends will be coming to live with my wife and I next year. We need to register them in Virginia's public schools, take care of their medical needs, and assume all parental responsibility while they are in the United States.

Adoption is not an option as the children have real parents. My question is - do we need to become their legal guardians or is there any other form of a legal relationship that the schools and doctors will accept.

If we do need to have legal guardianship, what are the steps to take and should we hire a lawyer?

Thank you,

[cscott369187]

I know for temporary situations, you can use a notarized "note" from their parents for medical needs giving you permission to seek med attention for them and make any decisions pertaining to that, but it may be a completely different matter for such a long period of time. This commonly done for babysitters and such, but probably wouldn't apply for school purposes. Keep in mind however, I only know about the temp permission for medical because I'm a nurse, not an attorney. You could probably get answers and get this done without an attorney by contacting your county's Dept. of Job and Family Services or Children Services. I would try that first before spending money on attorney fees that may not be neccessary.

[LdiJ]

Originally Posted by kunjoe

What is the name of your state? Virginia

My wife and I have close family friends that live overseas in the Federated States of Micronesia. Citizens of this country do not need visas to live, work, or attend school in the United States.

Because of the terrible education system in Micronesia and our desire to help, 3 children, aged 12-17, of our friends will be coming to live with my wife and I next year. We need to register them in Virginia's public schools, take care of their medical needs, and assume all parental responsibility while they are in the United States.

Adoption is not an option as the children have real parents. My question is - do we need to become their legal guardians or is there any other form of a legal relationship that the schools and doctors will accept.

If we do need to have legal guardianship, what are the steps to take and should we hire a lawyer?

Thank you,

Your three biggest issues will be medical insurance, seeking medical care for the children, and school enrollment.

Medical insurance can be resolved if the parents can afford to buy private policies for the children. Seeking medical care can be resolved with a broad power of attorney. School enrollment depends on the rules and regulations of your local school system.

Get a sit down meeting with someone in the office of the school superintendent for your school district regarding the situation, and figure out what is necessary. Some school districts might accept a broad power of attorney. Others may insist that you have custody or guardianship. If custody or guardianship is necessary, then get a consult with a local attorney. It may not be very complicated if all of the parties agree. If the parents cannot afford private medical insurance for their children, then that may also make custody or guardianship a necessity.

Oh...and in case any of the other posters are curious, the Federated states of Micronesia are territories of the United States (like Guam or Puerto Rico) which makes their citizens also citizens of the US.