What is a Guardianship or Conservatorship?
Guardianships and conservatorships are court-created and court-supervised relationships between two people. In a guardianship a person, called the “guardian,” is given authority to act for the other person, called the “protected person” (or, previously, the “ward”). A conservatorship is based on the same principle, but the person given authority to make decisions for the protected person is called a “conservator.”
There are three types of Protection Orders in South Dakota:
Adoption is the legal creation of a parent-child relationship. The adoption process is designed to give permanent homes for children who need them. Adoptive parents become the child's legal parents, with all of the rights and responsibilities of parenthood.
A divorce is a legal action that ends a marriage. During a divorce, parties divide assets and debts. It may also give spousal support, which is sometimes called alimony. The divorce proceeding will also give support for the minor children, if any. This is done by establishing child support, a division of the children’s expenses (such as health insurance, out-of-pocket health care expenses, and daycare) and set up a schedule for parenting time. It is best to have a lawyer for a divorce, but you can do it without one.