Also known as: tutorship · tutorships · tutelage · guardianship
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A legal relationship created by court appointment in which a guardian manages the person or property of a minor or incapacitated individual who lacks capacity to act independently.
Lamar Lewis suffered an adjudication of mental illness. A court placed his property under legal tutorship with a guardian. Lamar then signed a promissory note with Linden Bank. The bank later sued to enforce the note. Because the guardianship removed Lamar's capacity to incur contractual duties, the court held the note voidable at Lamar's election.
Leah Lamb and Levi Lowe submitted a custody dispute to arbitration. The arbitrator awarded guardianship of their child to Leah. Levi moved to vacate that portion of the award. The court vacated the guardianship ruling because the statute prohibits arbitrators from granting guardianship of a child.
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Landon Long was placed under legal tutorship after a finding of incapacity. He later attempted to sell real property to Lakeshore Industries. The buyer sought specific performance. The court refused enforcement because the guardianship placed Landon under the incapacity rule that voids his assent to contracts.
Lance Lee petitioned for guardianship of his grandchild after the mother's death. The court considered the father's fitness before granting the petition. Because the father retained parental rights, the court denied the guardianship and preserved the existing family structure.
Luis Lopez held legal tutorship over his niece after her parents' deaths. He sought to move her to another state. The original court order limited relocation. The court enforced the decree and blocked the move to protect the child's established contacts.
Liberty Trust served as legal tutorship over an incapacitated settlor's assets. The trustee sought to amend trust distributions. The supervising court required approval of any change. The court denied the amendment because the guardianship order did not authorize unilateral alteration of trust terms.
No. The guardianship must be by reason of an adjudication of mental illness or defect and must place the ward's property under the guardian's control. Only then does the ward lack capacity to incur contractual duties.
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No. Statutes expressly prohibit arbitrators from granting guardianship of a child or incapacitated individual even when the parties submit all disputes to arbitration.
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No. A court may appoint a guardian for financial affairs while expressly finding that the ward retains capacity to decide the disposition of property at death. That finding supports the validity of a later will or will substitute.
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…. . . , and not for the courts, to determine when the true interests of the Indian require his release from [the] condition of tutelage' . . . , it is not meant by this that Congress may bring a community or body of people within the range of this power by arbitrarily calling them an Indian tribe . . . ." United States v.…