Section 5-207
(a)
The court may appoint as guardian any person whose appointment would be in the best interest of the minor. The court shall appoint a person nominated by the minor, if the minor is 14 or more years of age, unless the court finds the appointment contrary to the best interest of the minor.
(b)
In the interest of developing self-reliance of a ward or for other good cause, the court, at the time of appointment or later, on its own motion or on motion of the minor ward or other interested person, may limit the powers of a guardian otherwise granted by this article and thereby create a limited guardianship. Any limitation on the statutory power of a guardian of a minor shall be endorsed on the guardian's letters or, in the case of a guardian by parental appointment, shall be reflected in letters that are issued at the time any limitation is imposed. Following the same procedure, additional powers may be granted or existing powers may be withdrawn.
Comment
Rather than provide for priorities among various classes of relatives, it was felt that the only priority should be for the person nominated by the minor. The important point is to locate someone whose appointment will be in the best interest of the minor. If there is contention among relatives over who should be named, it is not likely that a statutory priority keyed to degrees of kinship would help resolve the matter. For example, if the argument involved a squabble between relatives of the child's father and relatives of its mother, priority in terms of degrees of kinship would be useless.
Guardianships under this Article are not likely to be attractive positions for persons who are more interested in handling a minor's estate than in his or her personal well being. An order of a court having equity power is necessary if the guardian is to receive payment for services where there is no conservator for the minor's estate. Also, the powers of management of a ward's estate conferred on a guardian are restricted so that if a substantial estate is involved, a conservator will be needed to handle the financial matters.
Subsection (b) is new and extends the limited guardianship concept to guardians of minors by encouraging court orders limiting the already limited authority of a guardian. Using this provision, a court, at the time of appointment or on petition thereafter, might limit the authority of a guardian so that, for example, the guardian would not be able to direct the ward's religious training, or so that the guardian would be restricted in controlling the ward's place of abode by a condition that the ward's consent to any change of abode be given. The section provides that special restrictions of this sort may be removed or altered by further court order. Obviously, the drafters did not intend that the procedure for contracting and expanding special limitations on a guardian's power should be used to grant a guardian greater powers than are described in the section.
Massachusetts comment
Under G.L. c. 201, § 2 a minor above the age of 14 may nominate a guardian who, if approved by the Court, shall be appointed accordingly.