Children who, for various reasons, are left on temporary basis without the guardianship of their parents can rely on prior custody of the minor. It can be issued even for several days. This is due to the fact that parents are often forced to leave for another city or to do other important things, so they do not have the opportunity to fulfill their responsibilities to the kids. In this case, the child is placed under guardianship of other persons who are usually his relatives. Permanent guardianship is quite complicated, and the process takes a lot of time. Therefore, an ideal choice would be temporary custody, which is also called preliminary.
Custody purpose
Pre-custody of a minor is established for a short period of time. It is required that the baby is temporarily looked after by friends or relatives of the parents. Its main goal is to prevent a situation when a child is sent to an orphanage, where he may be traumatized.
The procedure for its design is simple and quick, and a simplified scheme is also used for this. Pre-custody is often used by people planning full custody. In this case, the child can immediately live in the family until the full custody of the citizen.
Features of custody
Any person under 18 years old is a minor. Up to this age, custody must certainly be established over them. Initially, the guardians and representatives of the children are the native parents. They protect children, provide them financially, and are also engaged in their education.
If, for various reasons, parents are absent or do not wish to voluntarily perform duties to their children, then by the decision of the guardianship authorities and the court, guardianship is established. If it is not possible to find guardians or adoptive parents, then the children remain on state support.
Pre-custody of a minor is an opportunity to provide care for a child for a limited period of time. Most often, it is made out by the relatives of the baby. After its expiration, the child remains in the care of the parents or the state, and full custody can also be issued.
What is the difference from permanent custody?
The establishment of preliminary custody of a minor has many significant differences from permanent custody. The initiators are usually relatives or friends of the family. Additionally, representatives of guardianship authorities may insist on its design.
The main differences from permanent custody include:
- a guardian becomes a person who has not been previously entered into a special guardianship base, and also has not completed special courses;
- it is not required for a citizen to collect a large number of different documents, as it is enough to confirm his identity, as well as to have housing that is suitable for a minor.
The registration procedure is quick and easy enough.
What are the requirements?
Pre-custody of a minor is permitted only if certain conditions are met. These include:
- the guardian must be of legal age;
- he should not have any diseases or mental abnormalities leading to disability;
- requires a living space, which can be used for permanent residence by the child.
Even if only a preliminary supervision is issued, it is difficult to achieve automatic approval, so representatives of guardianship will certainly carefully study the potential guardian. If a citizen plans in the future to draw up permanent guardianship of a minor, then for the allotted period of time he must prepare the necessary documents for these purposes. Additionally, he must prove that he has the capabilities and abilities to provide and raise a child.
Reasons for registration
The form of preliminary custody of a minor is most often used in the following situations:
- parents are forced to go on a long business trip;
- the child has only one parent who needs treatment in an inpatient setting;
- the citizen wants to arrange permanent custody of the child whose parents died, but does not want the child to be sent to state institutions, therefore, with the help of temporary custody, he takes the baby to his home;
- other reasons why a minor is left without parental supervision.
Guardianship authorities will necessarily take an interest in the main reasons for arranging such preliminary guardianship. If parents plan a long absence for various reasons, then they themselves must contact the guardianship authorities. They draw up a statement stating who they would like to see as a guardian, for how long they will be absent, as well as data on other relatives submitted to grandparents, as well as aunts or uncles of the child. It is allowed to use even the help of close friends to arrange preliminary custody of a minor.
Such a statement shall be accompanied by consent from the selected citizen who assumes responsibility for the child.
What to do if parents have no candidates?
If the child does not have close relatives, but the parents are forced to leave for treatment or for other purposes, then they turn to the guardianship authorities for help. In this case, it is the specialists of this organization that are independently engaged in choosing the right person.
If the child's parents died, then how is preliminary custody of an adult established? If there is a family that is ready to take their baby on an ongoing basis, then they can use temporary guardianship so that the child is not sent to the orphanage.
Rules for appointing a guardian
It is the guardianship that is considered the ideal choice for the child, so most often the guardianship authorities prefer to find a person who is ready to take responsibility for the baby than to send a minor to an orphanage or boarding school.
Guardianship can be assigned in various ways:
- at the request of immediate parents or other close relatives who wrote a statement to the guardianship authorities;
- at the initiative of guardianship authorities if the baby's parents die or lose their rights to a child;
- on the basis of a statement written directly by the child, if he is already 14 years old, and there are also grounds for drawing up this document.
Not everyone can take responsibility for a child. All candidates are presented with really strict and numerous requirements.
Who has the preemptive right?
When establishing preliminary guardianship over a minor, some people have a preemptive right over other citizens. The following persons have this right:
- Grandmothers and grandfathers;
- brothers or sisters who may be siblings or cousins;
- stepmothers and stepfathers;
- uncles or aunts.
Additionally, close family friends or neighbors can apply for guardianship.Often, kindergarten or school workers who come in close contact with the child act as guardians. If there is no opportunity to find people close to the baby, then the person who is ready to take responsibility for the minor is located through a special guardianship base.
Clearance procedure
Guardianship can be presented in several forms. Preliminary custody of a minor consists in the temporary registration of the relevant status. The process is divided into the following steps:
- the necessary trustee gathers the necessary documentation;
- application papers are transferred to the guardianship authorities;
- on a certain day, representatives of a state institution visit a citizen’s housing to verify the optimal living conditions for the child;
- if there are no grounds for refusal, a permit for temporary guardianship shall be issued.
Since a simplified procedure is used for registration, it does not take more than three days. At this time, the candidate and his housing are being checked.
What documents are needed?
The following documentation will be required from the potential trustee:
- passport of a citizen;
- correctly formed statement;
- the act of inspection of the premises, drawn up by representatives of the authorized organization.
Additionally, a preliminary contract is formed with representatives of the guardianship authorities.
Validity
The term of preliminary custody of a minor may be different, but as much as possible it is drawn up for six months. During this time, each person can engage in the design of permanent guardianship.
Additionally, for such a period, parents can entrust their child to relatives or friends. It is allowed to extend this period for another 2 months if the necessary documents are collected again by the citizen. If, for various reasons, a person cannot become a permanent guardian, then the term is not extended again.
This period begins with the establishment of guardianship. During this time, representatives of the guardianship authorities should check in what conditions the child lives, for what purpose the funds paid to the guardian are spent, and how the rights of the minor are respected.
Are any funds paid?
Guardianship may be paid or gratuitous. If gratuitous guardianship is issued, then in this case the person who takes responsibility for the minor voluntarily makes such a decision. Usually he is represented by a relative of the baby. No payments or benefits are provided for in this case.
Appointed with paid preliminary custody of a minor, payments to a trustee. In this case, he not only performs various legal actions on behalf of the child, but also receives a certain amount of funds every month. It is prescribed in an agreement signed with representatives of guardianship authorities.
Conclusion
Pre-custody is also called temporary. It is notable for its ease and speed of execution, but its terms do not exceed six months. Most often, it is formalized by family or close friends of the family. The initiator can be not only potential trustees, but also the parents of the child.
Such custody may be paid or gratuitous. Guardianship authorities will certainly check the living conditions of the child, as well as protect their rights and interests.