Rule 1-155.Appointment of guardian
Last verified June 26, 2026
Full Text of Rule 1-155
Rule History
[Adopted by Supreme Court Order No. 22-8300-020, effective for all cases pending or filed on or after December 31, 2022.]
Committee Commentary
A letter of guardianship allows a kinship guardian to provide a short and easily-understood notice to all third parties (be it schools, doctors, or the Social Security Administration) that a child has a kinship guardian and the guardian is the legal custodian of that child. Many orders appointing kinship guardians include sensitive information about parents and have information that is not necessary for a third party to know (such as the amount of child support or whether the parents must test negative for drugs before visiting).
The form letter of guardianship, Form 4A-516 NMRA, excludes private information about the parties and the child but provides information about what authority the kinship guardian has regarding the child.
[Adopted by Supreme Court Order No. 22-8300-020, effective for all cases pending or filed on or after December 31, 2022.]
Plain-English Summary
This rule documents the appointment. When the court appoints a kinship guardian, it issues letters of guardianship that clearly state—without unnecessary information—that the guardian has all the authority of a parent except the right to consent to adoption and any rights the court orders a parent to retain, with any retained rights stated in the letter.
To protect the child, when the Children, Youth and Families Department is a party, orders likely to be seen by non-parties (including the letters of guardianship) use only the caption “In the Matter of [initials of child]” with the case number; when the department is not a party, the caption uses the child’s initials and names the petitioner and respondents. As the committee commentary explains, the letter (Form 4A-516) lets a guardian show schools, doctors, or agencies their authority without revealing sensitive details.
Frequently Asked Questions
What authority does a kinship guardian have?
All the authority of a parent except the right to consent to adoption and any rights the court orders a parent to retain, as stated in the letters of guardianship.