Find Legal Topics > Children Laws Laws > Texas Guardianship Law

Texas Guardianship Law


A Quick Guide to Texas Guardianship 

Texas Guardianships and the Law

Texas guardianship is offered to a court-administered person in order to take care of a minor or incapacitated person or their property.  The incapacitated person is referred to as the ward, and there are two different kinds of Texas guardianship.  

Under Texas law, a person who takes care of a minor or other person is called the guardian of the person and person who takes care of property is call the guardian of the estate.  In order to maintain Texas guardianships, the minor must be under the age of 18, must not be married, or has not had their minor status or disability removed by the court.  

In order to take care of an adult under Texas guardianship laws, the person must have a physical or mental condition that prohibits or greatly restricts them from providing food, clothing, and shelter for themselves.  If you need more information on Texas guardianship, you can find more information about who will qualify for guardianship and the procedure in TX.  

Who will be appointed guardian in Texas?

Texas guardianships are provided to people in a top-down approach because the court will give preference to family before anyone else.  If the ward is a minor, the court will guardianship in the following order: 

1. parents

2. a person the last surviving parent designates for guardianship 

3. the nearest ascendant to the child after the parents (usually grandparents or aunts and uncles) 

4. kin

5. a non-relative that the court determines will satisfy as an appropriate guardian 

If the ward is an adult, Texas guardianship will be granted in the following order: 


1. the person designated by the ward prior to the incapacity to have Texas guardianship 

2. the ward’s spouse

3. next of kin 

4. a non-relative 

If more than one person qualifies for Texas guardianships, the court will decide who meets the most qualifications.  

The Texas Guardianship Process

The state is very strict when determining Texas guardianships.  The state will usually recommend that a party hire a family law attorney in order to help them with the Texas guardianship process because it is often very complicated. 

Some general steps are listed below, and you should ask a lawyer for any other steps you should take: 

1. The incapacity of the person must be proved unless the part is a minor.  In order to prove incapacity, the court must usually obtain certificate form a doctor who examined the person.  

2. After incapacity is determined, Texas guardianships are then started with the filing of a certificate that can be both long and detailed.  You should always have a lawyer help with the certificate, and this form must usually be filled out 120 days after the application for guardianship was filed.  

3. After the certificate has been submitted, an attorney ad litem will be assigned to the incapacitated person in order to protect their civil rights and establish specific rights under the Texas guardianship.  

4. If Texas guardianships are approved, Letters of Guardianship are issued on the ward and will expire in 16 months unless the guardian renews the letters.  

Related Topics