Texas Minor Guardianship Laws

Guardianship of a minor in Texas is a probate court proceeding, not a family court case. A judge appoints someone to make decisions for a child, or to manage a child’s property, when the parents cannot. It runs under the Texas Estates Code and carries ongoing court supervision.

That distinction decides where a case is filed and what has to be proved. Grandparents and other relatives stepping in to raise a child often assume guardianship is the answer when it is not.

This guide explains how Texas minor guardianship works, and how it differs from the family law routes that more often fit a relative’s situation.

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    Guardianship of the Person and of the Estate

    Texas treats these as two separate appointments, and a case can involve one or both. A court can name the same person to both roles or split them between two people.

    • Guardianship of the person. Authority over the child’s care, residence, education, and medical treatment.
    • Guardianship of the estate. Authority over the child’s money and property, with court oversight of how it is spent and invested.

    A child who inherits money or receives an injury settlement can need a guardian of the estate even when both parents are healthy and present. That is a property question rather than a custody question.

    Who Has Priority to Be Appointed

    The Estates Code sets an order of preference rather than leaving the choice open. A court works down that order, and each step still answers to the child’s best interests.

    • Parents first. Parents are the natural guardians of the person of their minor children. If they disagree over who serves as guardian of the estate, the court appoints whichever parent is better qualified.[1]
    • A surviving parent’s written choice. A surviving parent may name an eligible guardian by will or written declaration, and the court must honor that choice over others otherwise entitled to serve.[2]
    • A child aged 12 or older may choose. The minor may select a guardian in writing filed with the clerk, and the court appoints that person if it finds the choice is in the minor’s best interest.[3]
    • Then relatives, by closeness. If no parent designated anyone, the nearest ascendant in the direct line has the right to serve. Failing that, the court appoints the nearest of kin, and then any qualified person.[4]

    Priority is not a guarantee. The Estates Code separately disqualifies people for reasons including unsuitability, a conflict of interest, notoriously bad conduct, and being subject to a family violence protective order.[5]

    Guardianship Is One of Four Routes for a Relative

    Texas splits these across two codes and two courthouses. A grandparent who files the wrong one can spend months before a judge who was never able to grant what was asked for.

    • Guardianship. Estates Code, probate court. It fits when no parent is able to act, or when a child’s property needs a manager. It is not the route for taking a child from a parent who is present and capable.
    • Nonparent conservatorship. Family Code, family court. A grandparent, or another relative within the third degree by consanguinity, may seek managing conservatorship. They may also ask to intervene in a pending suit, on proof that appointing a parent would significantly impair the child’s physical health or emotional development.[6]
    • Standing earned by caregiving. Caring for the child can itself create the right to file. The period must run at least six months and end not more than 90 days before filing.[7]
    • Grandparent possession or access. A narrower route that seeks visitation rather than custody, and carries its own three-part test.[8]

    The two custody routes run through how Texas courts assign conservatorship, not through probate court.

    The Grandparent Access Test

    Texas gives grandparents no general right to visitation. A court can order possession or access only when three things are true at the same time.

    • A parent still has rights. At least one biological or adoptive parent has not had parental rights terminated.
    • The harm showing. The grandparent must overcome the presumption that a parent acts in the child’s best interest. That means proving, by a preponderance of the evidence, that denial would significantly impair the child’s physical health or emotional well-being.
    • The parent’s status. The grandparent must be a parent of the child’s parent. That parent must be incarcerated during the three months before filing, found incompetent by a court, dead, or without actual or court-ordered possession of the child.

    The second element is where most claims fail. Showing that visits would benefit the child is not the same as showing that denying them would cause significant harm.

    How a Guardianship Case Moves Through Probate Court

    The sequence is statutory, and skipping a step usually restarts the notice clock.

    1. File in the right county. For a minor, venue depends on where the parents live, or on which parent is managing conservator when they live apart.[9]
    2. File a sworn application. It identifies the child, the proposed guardian, the type of guardianship sought, and the facts showing why it is needed.
    3. Give citation and notice. Parents and close relatives entitled to notice must be served. A 2025 change now allows a private process server to serve citation for temporary guardianship.
    4. Court appointments. The court appoints an attorney to represent the proposed ward, and may appoint a guardian ad litem to represent the child’s interests.[10]>
    5. Hearing, then qualification. The applicant proves the need, eligibility, and best interest. The appointed guardian then signs an oath and posts any bond, and letters of guardianship issue only after that.

    A second 2025 change bars a person whose interests are adverse to the proposed ward from filing an application or contesting a removal.

    What the Court Requires After Appointment

    Appointment starts a supervised relationship rather than ending the case. A guardian of the person files an annual report on the child’s condition, and a guardian of the estate files an inventory and annual accountings.

    Courts must now enter an order approving or rejecting those filings, and accounting requirements grew more detailed in 2025. Selling property, settling a claim, or spending principal generally needs advance court approval.

    When a Minor Guardianship Ends

    A guardianship of the estate is settled when the child dies, or becomes an adult by turning 18, by marriage, or by removal of the disabilities of minority.[11]

    It also ends early in several situations, including when the estate is exhausted or the court decides a guardianship is no longer necessary. Closing is its own procedure, and the court discharges the guardian only after approving a final account.

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    Frequently Asked Questions

    Is guardianship how grandparents get visitation in Texas?

    No. Visitation runs through the Family Code as possession or access, decided in family court, and it carries a strict three-part test rather than a guardianship application.

    Do I need guardianship if I am already raising my grandchild?

    Not always. Guardianship fits when no parent can act. When a parent is still in the picture, a nonparent custody suit is usually the better fit, and caregiving over time can itself create standing to file one.

    Can I get guardianship of a child whose parents are alive and capable?

    Generally no, at least not guardianship of the person. Parents hold first priority, and a dispute with a present, capable parent belongs in family court rather than probate court.

    Does guardianship take away the parents’ rights?

    No. Guardianship shifts decision-making authority, but the parents remain the child’s legal parents and the arrangement can be modified or closed. Only a termination or adoption changes legal parentage.

    Which Route Fits the Situation

    The threshold question is not who should raise the child. It is whether a parent is able to act, because that answer decides which courthouse hears the case.

    • No parent able to act, or a child with property. Guardianship, in probate court.
    • A parent is present, but the child is at risk in their care. Nonparent conservatorship, in family court.
    • You have been raising the child yourself. Caregiving standing, in family court.
    • You want contact, not custody. Grandparent possession or access, in family court.

    Sources