Indiana Guardianships for a child or an adult.
If you are raising a grandchild, or caring for a parent who can no longer manage, a guardianship gives you the legal authority to act. It also does not end anyone's parental rights — which is usually the reassurance families are looking for.
A court appoints a guardian when the person is a minor or an incapacitated person and a guardian is necessary to provide care and supervision.
Ind. Code § 29-3-5-3(a) uses one test for both minors and incapacitated adults — there is no separate standard for children. Parental consent helps, but it is not the legal test: the court must still find the appointment necessary. And a guardianship does not terminate parental rights. There is no such provision anywhere in the guardianship statutes.
Authority you can actually use.
School enrollment, medical decisions, benefits, a lease. Tell us who needs care and who is objecting, if anyone. That determines whether this is a straightforward filing or a contested case.
One standard, two kinds of case
Ind. Code § 29-3-5-3(a) is the operative grounds provision for both minors and adults. The court appoints a guardian where "(1) the individual for whom the guardian is sought is an incapacitated person or a minor; and (2) the appointment of a guardian is necessary as a means of providing care and supervision of the physical person or property of the incapacitated person or minor."
For an adult the fight is usually over the first element. "Incapacitated person" is defined at § 29-3-1-7.5 and it is broader than most people expect — a person who cannot be located on reasonable inquiry, or who is unable to manage their property, provide self-care, or both, because of insanity, mental illness, mental deficiency, physical illness, infirmity, habitual drunkenness, excessive use of drugs, incarceration, confinement, detention, duress, fraud, undue influence, or other incapacity. It also includes a person with a developmental disability.
For a minor the fight is usually over the second element — whether a guardianship is necessary, as opposed to convenient.
A parent's request is a statutory consideration — § 29-3-5-4(a)(2) and § 29-3-5-5(a)(6) — and courts routinely grant consented guardianships. But no statute makes parental agreement self-executing. The court must still find the appointment necessary under § 29-3-5-3(a)(2). Families who assume a signed consent finishes the matter are sometimes surprised at the hearing.
Two different routes, and people pick the wrong one
If you have been raising a child who is not yours, there are two ways to get legal authority and they are genuinely different. Choosing wrong costs months.
| Minor guardianship | De facto custodian | |
|---|---|---|
| Statute | IC 29-3 — probate side | IC 31-9-2-35.5 and IC 31-17-2-8.5 — custody side |
| Residency prerequisite | None | Yes — the child must have lived with and been cared for by you for at least 6 months if under age 3, or 1 year if age 3 or older |
| What you must show | Appointment is "necessary as a means of providing care and supervision" | De facto custodian status by clear and convincing evidence |
| What you get | Guardian appointed. Parental rights are not terminated | The statute treats a de facto custodian as having legal custody of the child |
| Who files | Any interested person, by petition | IC 31-17-2-3(a)(2) lets "a person other than a parent" file a custody petition |
| Getting out | IC 29-3-12-1 — including where the guardianship is "no longer necessary for any other reason" | Custody modification standard |
Two details on the de facto route worth knowing. The court shall make a de facto custodian a party to the proceeding once status is established. And in weighing the case, the court considers "whether the child was placed with the de facto custodian to allow the parent now seeking custody to: (A) seek employment; (B) work; or (C) attend school" — which is a deliberate limit on turning ordinary childcare arrangements into custody claims.
A third party does not win by showing they have more money, a bigger house, or better judgment. In In re Guardianship of B.H., 770 N.E.2d 283 (Ind. 2002), the Indiana Supreme Court framed the question as whether the presumption favoring the parent is "clearly and convincingly overcome by evidence proving that [the child's] best interests are substantially and significantly served by placement with [the guardians]." That is a high bar, deliberately.
The obligations nobody mentions at the outset
A bond may be required. IC 29-3-7 governs. Whether one is required depends on the nature of the estate and the court — a guardianship over a person with no property is treated differently from one holding a settlement or an inheritance.
Inventory and accounting. IC 29-3-9 covers the guardian's reporting duties. If there is property involved, this is an ongoing obligation to the court, not a one-time filing, and falling behind on it is the most common way guardians get into trouble.
It can end. IC 29-3-12-1 governs termination, including where the guardianship "is no longer necessary for any other reason." A parent seeking to end a guardianship over their child has the benefit of the presumption from B.H.
On what a parent keeps during a guardianship: the guardianship statutes contain no termination-of-parental-rights provision, so parental rights are not extinguished. What we will not do is publish a tidy list of "rights the parent retains," because no statute enumerates one — and a list that looks statutory but is not is worse than no list.
Frequently asked questions
01Does a guardianship take away the parents' rights?
No. The guardianship statutes contain no provision terminating parental rights, and a parent can petition to end the guardianship — IC 29-3-12-1 allows termination where it "is no longer necessary." That is a real and important difference from adoption, and it is usually the point families most need explained.
02The parents agree. Is it automatic?
No, though it is much easier. Parental consent is a statutory consideration and consented guardianships are granted routinely — but the court still has to find the appointment necessary under § 29-3-5-3(a)(2). Consent gets you a short hearing, not a skipped one.
03Should I file a guardianship or a custody case?
It depends mostly on how long the child has lived with you. The de facto custodian route requires at least six months if the child is under three, or one year if three or older — and it gets you legal custody. Guardianship has no residency prerequisite but gives you a guardianship rather than custody. If you do not meet the de facto timeline, that choice is made for you.
04My mother has dementia and won't accept help. What can I do?
An adult guardianship is the tool, and "incapacitated person" under § 29-3-1-7.5 covers inability to manage property or provide self-care due to mental deficiency or infirmity. These are frequently contested by the person themselves, which is appropriate — it is their autonomy at stake. Expect medical evidence to be central.
05Do I have to file reports with the court?
If there is property involved, yes — IC 29-3-9 sets out inventory and accounting duties, and they continue for the life of the guardianship. Guardians who treat the appointment as the finish line are the ones who end up back in front of a judge. We will tell you what your court expects before you take the appointment.
06I have more resources than the parent. Isn't that enough?
No, and this is the most common misunderstanding in third-party cases. In re Guardianship of B.H. requires the presumption favoring the parent to be "clearly and convincingly overcome" by evidence that the child's best interests are "substantially and significantly served" by placement with you. Being the better-resourced household does not clear that bar on its own.
Get the authority. Without taking anything away.
Tell us who you are caring for, how long they have lived with you, and whether anyone objects. Those three answers pick the right route.
This page is general information about Indiana law, not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney–client relationship. Guardianship practice varies meaningfully by county and by judge, particularly on bond and reporting requirements. Statutes and case law change. Reviewed August 2026 against the 2026 edition of the Indiana Code. Attorney advertising.