The Importance of Guardianship and Custodianship for the Protection of the Rights of Natural Persons
Guardianship is established in order to implement, protect, and defend the rights and interests of a legally incapacitated natural person. Custodianship is established to protect and defend the rights and interests of a person with limited legal capacity.
Assignment of Guardianship or Custodianship
A guardian or custodian acts as a legal representative of their ward (the person under guardianship or custodianship) under the law and defends the rights and interests of incapacitated or partially incapacitated persons without requiring special authorization.
A guardian has the right to conclude all necessary transactions on behalf of and in the interests of a legally incapacitated person. A custodian gives consent to a person with limited legal capacity to conclude a transaction that they are not allowed to conclude independently. The custodian also assists such a person in exercising their other rights or fulfilling duties, and protects their rights and legitimate interests against abuse by third parties.
The court, upon recognizing a person as legally incapacitated or with limited capacity, must immediately appoint a guardian or custodian for that person. Only a legally capable natural person can be appointed as a guardian or custodian, and only with their written consent.
Employees of educational, upbringing, healthcare, police, and other institutions, as well as other individuals who possess information about minors who are left without parental care — or about the necessity to protect minors’ rights and interests (e.g., cases of parental abuse, illness, death, disappearance, or abandonment of children in educational or medical institutions) — are obliged to immediately inform the State Child Rights Protection Institution according to the child’s or their own place of residence (in Lithuania).
Guardianship is established for children under the age of 14. Custodianship is established for children aged 14 and older.
Guardianship, by court decision, is assigned to an adult who has been recognized by the court as legally incapacitated. Custodianship is assigned to an adult who has been recognized by the court as having limited legal capacity.
Guardianship is appointed to an adult who has been recognized as incapacitated by a court decision. Custodianship is appointed to an adult who has been recognized by a court decision as having limited legal capacity.