Guardianship Petition for a Minor

IN THE [court_name] GUARDIANSHIP PETITION NO. ________ OF 20____ IN THE MATTER OF: [petitioner_name] [petitioner_address] ... PETITIONER AND IN THE MATTER OF [minor_name], A MINOR PETITION UNDER SECTIONS 7 AND 8 OF THE GUARDIANS AND WARDS ACT, 1890 MOST RESPECTFULLY SHOWETH: 1. That the Petitioner is the [relationship_to_minor] of [minor_name] (the "Minor"), aged [minor_age] years, born on [minor_dob]. 2. POSITION REGARDING THE MINOR'S PARENTS [parents_status] 3. GROUNDS FOR THE PETITION [grounds] 4. That the Petitioner seeks appointment as guardian of the [guardianship_type] of the Minor. 5. PROPERTY OF THE MINOR [minor_property] 6. That the Petitioner is a fit and proper person to be appointed as guardian, being of sound mind, of good character, financially capable of providing for the Minor, and closely related to and genuinely concerned for the Minor. 7. That the appointment of the Petitioner as guardian is in the WELFARE OF THE MINOR, which under Section 17 of the Guardians and Wards Act, 1890 is the paramount consideration. In particular, the Petitioner is best placed to provide for the Minor's care, education, health and upbringing. 8. That the Minor has been residing with and in the care of the Petitioner, and is emotionally attached to the Petitioner and to the Petitioner's household. 9. That there is no person having a preferential right to be appointed guardian who objects to this petition, and no other person has applied for guardianship of the Minor. 10. That the Petitioner undertakes to act in the best interests of the Minor at all times, to render true accounts of the Minor's property where guardianship of property is granted, and to seek the leave of this Hon'ble Court before dealing with any immovable property of the Minor as required by Section 29 of the Act. 11. That the Minor ordinarily resides within the territorial jurisdiction of this Hon'ble Court, which therefore has jurisdiction to entertain this petition. 12. That no previous petition in respect of the guardianship of the Minor has been filed before this or any other court. PRAYER It is therefore most respectfully prayed that this Hon'ble Court may be pleased to: (a) Appoint the Petitioner as guardian of the [guardianship_type] of the Minor [minor_name]; (b) Issue a certificate of guardianship in favour of the Petitioner; (c) Grant such interim custody or protection as may be necessary pending disposal of this petition; and (d) Pass such other orders as this Hon'ble Court may deem just and proper in the welfare of the Minor. AND FOR THIS ACT OF KINDNESS, THE PETITIONER SHALL EVER PRAY. Place: ______________ Date: [petition_date] [petitioner_name] PETITIONER Through ______________________ ADVOCATE NOTE: The welfare of the minor is the paramount consideration under Section 17, and it overrides the preferential claims of relatives. The court will ordinarily hear the minor's own preference where the minor is old enough to form an intelligent preference. A guardian of property must furnish security and render accounts as the court directs, and requires the court's prior permission to sell, mortgage or lease the minor's immovable property.