Overview
A guardian is responsible for the child’s wellbeing, including:
- nurturing the child’s physical, mental and emotional development
- making sure they have food, clothing and shelter
- consenting to their medical care
- receiving their health or educational information
- receiving and responding to their legal notices
- dealing with their legal matters
- appointing someone to act as their guardian – in an emergency – if you can’t be there
A guardian is required to make important decisions for the child, including:
- the language(s) the child speaks
- their religious and spiritual upbringing
- where they live
- who they live with and contact
- if they work and what kind of work they do
- their activities inside and outside of school
Eligibility
You can apply for a Guardianship Order if you’re either:
- a parent who’s not a guardian
- an adult who’s had care and control over the child for at least 6 months
If you gave birth to the child, you are already a legal guardian.
You (or the other parent) are a guardian if any of these situations applies:
Lived together
You and the other parent lived together:
- when the child was born – and you lived together for at least 12 months is a row
- when the child was born – and you were in the midst of an ‘adult interdependent relationship’:
- 3 years of interdependence with another adult
- less than 3 years, where you both signed an Adult Interdependent Partnership Agreement
- less than 3 years, where both of you had a child together
- after the child was born – and you had an adult interdependent relationship within 1 year of finding out about the child
Married or divorced
You and the other parent were:
- married when the child was born
- married after the child was born – within 1 year of finding out about the child
- divorced during the pregnancy – with less than 300 days before the child was born
Financial or non-financial support
You or the other parent:
- voluntarily gave money or offered financial help to the other parent or child – within 1 year of finding out about the child
- gave non-financial support to the other parent or child – within 1 year of finding out about the child
- gave or offered money or non-financial support to the birth mother
Order, deal or behaviour
You or the other parent have:
- a court order that says you’re the guardian or only parent
- a written deal with the other parent that says you’re a guardian
- shown behaviour that demonstrates you meant to take on the responsibilities of the child’s guardianship – within 1 year of finding out about the child
How to apply
Step 1. Fill out the forms
- Adult’s Statement - Guardianship of Child (0.01 MB)
- Claim - Family Law Act (0.1 MB)
Step 2. File your order
Do this at the same court, in the same location, where you’ve either:
- already been to court with the other party
- started any court action that hasn’t gone to court
If you haven’t done either of these things, file your claim at any court in Alberta.
Note: If you don’t come to court, the judge may make an order in your absence.