Rule 5.815.Legal guardianship—wards (§§ 366.26, 727.3, 728)

A ward can have a guardian appointed without leaving the juvenile court. The proceedings run under the dependency permanency statute, and the recommendation may come three ways: from the probation officer in the social study and case plan, on the motion of the child’s attorney, or from the court’s own determination that guardianship is the appropriate permanent plan.

The court then orders an assessment covering the statutory elements — plus a statement confirming that the proposed guardian has been given the information booklet explaining what a juvenile court guardian does, in English or Spanish. No separate petition and no separate hearing are required; the recommendation can sit inside the ordinary social study.

The clerk notices the child, the parents and everyone else the statute requires. The hearing follows the permanency procedures, the court must read and consider the assessment and any other relevant evidence, and the person who prepared the assessment must be available for examination by the court or any party.

On the necessary findings the court appoints the guardian and orders letters issued as soon as the guardian signs them — letters that are not confidential juvenile documents. The court may make orders about visitation and contact with a parent or other relative, and may either continue wardship and supervision or end it.

Changing or ending the guardianship — including adding a co-guardian or naming a successor — is done by petition in the juvenile court, following the modification procedures, and may be heard alongside any regularly scheduled hearing about the child.