Home / Knowledge Base / Guardianship and Adoption / Minors / Page 3
Guardianship and Adoption
Minors
Articles0 Results
When the court passed judgment awarding my child maintenance it said that his father would support him until the age of 18 or until he finished high school, whichever came later. When my son finished high school the maintenance stopped . His draft date has been deferred due to medical problems and he still lives with me at home. Can his father be made to pay him maintenance until he goes into the army?
Guardianship and Adoption •MinorsYes – although the son himself and not the parent must file for it ! The Supreme Court set several factual assumptions relevant to claims for maintenance for 18-21 year olds. The relevant one here is that during the period between high school and being drafted into the army the level of financial support of parents towards their child is reduced to two thirds of what is was before the age of 18.
Can a high school student who has left home get maintenance paid directly from the non-custodial parent?
Guardianship and Adoption •MinorsYes! Tel Aviv Family Court ordered a father to pay maintenance for his seventeen year old daughter directly to her and not to her mother,who had custody. The daughter child claimed her mother’s behaviour had driven her out of the house and she had rented an apartment out of town with her boyfriend, working in the evenings to support herself , and travelling from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv to study every day. Her mother, she claimed, did not give her maintenance paid by the father. As well as ordering direct payment of maintenance to his daughter, the court ordered the father to pay part of her rent.
My sister and her husband were killed in a terror attack. They had two children. I have been looking after them as I am their closest relative in Israel. I would like to become their legal guardians but am worried that I will be liable for their maintenance. Is that so ?
Guardianship and Adoption •MinorsNo ! The 1962 Legal Capacity and Guardianship Act explicitly states that the appointment of someone as a guardian does not entail any maintenance obligation towards that person.
What can be done to solve decision–making concerning minors, if family on both sides fail to consult and co-operate as ordered by court, and the surviving parent is in prison and cannot decide on all matters ?
Guardianship and Adoption •MinorsAn application can be made for the appointment of an independent guardian for the children, who is not a member of either family, for certain issues .
Such a situation would be an exception to the rule whereby preference is usually given to family members concerning the appointment of an additional guardian for the children following the death of one parent.
A tragedy befell our large family recently. A young mother died in tragic circumstances, and her husband has undergone major surgery . All the family on both sides have been very supportive in helping look after the young children, but nothing official has been done, although there are enough relatives on both sides who are willing to take on responsibility. What is recommended ?
Guardianship and Adoption •MinorsWhere one parent has died, and the other is seriously ill and his ability to look after their minor children is seriously affected, the best option is for an able and willing member of the family to apply to the family court to be appointed as an additional guardian for the minors. The 1962 Legal Capacity and Guardianship Law makes provision for this, and gives preference to family members.
Does an unborn child have rights and if so, how can they be protected ?
Guardianship and Adoption •MinorsYes ! section 33 (a)(6) of the Legal Capacity and Guardianship Law states that a court can appoint a guardian for a foetus . The guardian would represent the foetus and protect its rights.
Will one parent found guilty of murdering the other lose all rights regarding their children ?
Guardianship and Adoption •MinorsFirstly, assuming that the appeal in the criminal process is over, and the parent is serving a life sentence for murder, then he will clearly lose custody, and most likely have his guardianship rights severely restricted, too.
In August 2003 a father who was serving a life sentence for murdering the mother of his two children had his rights as their natural guardian severely reduced by Jerusalem Family Court, during a custody case involving the two sets of grandparents who were fighting for the right to raise them. During the appeal case before the District Court, in August 2004, the court refused to adopt a lenient approach regarding the father’s role with the children. The leading member of the 3-judge panel said: “ Regarding everything about the father himself, his status and his ‘rights’ regarding his children, there is no room for a lenient approach…, as if there is no difference between a father who murdered the mother and is serving a life sentence, between a father who is serving a long sentence for financial offences.”
I now live separately from the woman with whom I had a child and pay maintenance for him. She wants me to give up my guardianship over him. Will this mean that I don’t have to pay maintenance anymore?
Guardianship and Adoption •MinorsNo ! Under the 1962 Legal Capacity and Guardianship Law both biological parents are a minor’s natural guardians, although only one of them , usually the father, may be declared the parent with custody, and the non-custodial parent is the one who has to pay maintenance. Even if the mother files a plea to become the sole guardian of the minor, and the father agrees to this, it is unlikely that the court will accept this, unless there are exceptional circumstances, such as his prolonged absence from the country and lack of interest in the child. Furthermore, even if the court does agree to the mother becoming the minor’s sole guardian, this will not free the father of his maintenance obligation towards the child.
In my divorce agreement which was authorized in court I agreed to my ex-wife having custody of our children and she undertook not to file any plea to increase the maintenance we agreed upon against me. Now, following an argument we had about my participation in the cost of psychological treatment, she has asked the family court to strip me of my role as guardian and to declare that she is the children’s sole guardian. Can she act this way and can the court deprive me of my role as guardian ?
Guardianship and Adoption •MinorsThe minors’ biological father is their natural guardian, as is the mother. He remains their natural guardian even if she has custody and he does not, and even after they divorce. Under the 1962 Legal Capacity and Guardianship Act a parent can only be deprived of guardianship as an exception, if certain, very strict conditions under the 1960 Youth ( Treatment and Care) Act are met.
Until what age do parents have legal duties towards their children ?
Guardianship and Adoption •MinorsUntil the children are no longer minors, and become adults, at the age of 18.
Questions and Answers10 Results
* We hope you find our website useful and easy to use. Please note, however, that the information provided on it is not a substitute for personal legal counselling which is available upon payment.