What are the differences between adoption and guardianship?

Adoption and guardianship are two legal processes in California that involve the custody of a child. Both involve a transfer of parental rights, with guardianship involving a transfer of legal rights and responsibility to an adult without severing the relationship between the parent and child, while adoption involves a much more permanent transfer of these rights and responsibilities. In guardianship, the guardian is a designated adult, who is responsible for the health, safety, and well-being of the child and who, as part of their legal duties, must follow the court’s instructions regarding the care of the child. The guardian is often responsible for making decisions about the child’s education and health care. Though the guardian may also have some parental control over the child, such as making decisions regarding visitation and travel, they do not have the same legal rights as the parent. Adoption, on the other hand, is a much more permanent process than guardianship. In California, an adoption occurs when a legal relationship is created between an adoptive parent and a child. The adoptive parent obtains the same legal rights and responsibilities of the biological parent, including the authority to make decisions regarding the child’s health, education, and upbringing. An adoption also severs the legal relationship between the biological parent and the child and creates a new permanent parent-child relationship. Overall, guardianship is a legal process that creates a temporary relationship between an adult and a child, and does not sever the legal relationship between a biological parent and the child. Adoption, however, is a much more permanent process and completely replaces the legal relationship between the biological parent and the child with a new legal relationship between the adoptive parent and the child.

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What are the differences between adoption and guardianship?

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