Our Contact Centre will be closed from 5pm on 24 December 2024, reopening at 8am on 3 January 2025. National Office (Aitken Street, Wellington) reception will be closed from 5pm on Friday 20 December, reopening at 8am on Monday 6 January 2025. For more information, see Court and Tribunal hours
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Anyone can apply to the Family Court to remove a guardian. The Court will only remove a guardian if this is in the child’s best interests and supports their welfare. The guardian will also get the chance to respond to your application.
The court can remove a parent as guardian for two reasons:
Finding a guardian seriously unfit can only be for serious reasons. These may include serious:
A parent can be removed as a guardian if they’re unwilling to be a guardian. This must be harmful to the child and detrimental to their welfare and best interests.
The court may also remove a testamentary guardian, court-appointed guardian, or additional guardian.
When to apply for an urgent court order
If you think you need urgent help, you may find it helpful to talk to a lawyer.
The application pack includes your application, affidavit, and information sheet. You may find the following information useful when you complete these forms.
Care of Children - Applying for a Court Order guide [PDF, 3.9 MB]
Affidavits and statutory declarations
If your application is not urgent, you’ll need to make sure everyone named as a party in the application has an exact copy of the application. This is called service.
You need a BLUE or BLACK ballpoint pen if you choose to fill out the forms by hand.
A lawyer can help you apply for court orders and they may also represent you in court.
Choose the form you need to complete.
Care of Children form generator
If you need an urgent decision, select ‘without notice’ in the ‘how you want to file’ field.
To have the forms sent to you, freephone the Ministry of Justice 0800 224 733. You can also pick them up from the court.
You must print the forms single sided.
The type of form you need to choose depends on who you want to remove. To choose the right form, read the Care of Children - Applying for a Court Order guide
Your application must include:
You can file your application electronically, by post, or in person. When you file your application, it must have the original signatures. You must file your application at the correct courthouse. If you file your application in person or by post, you’ll need to provide enough exact copies for everyone named as a party to your application and keep a copy for yourself.
Court staff will contact you if they need more information.
You don’t need to pay a court filing fee for this application. There may be other fees involved when using the Family Court. This may include:
If a judge agrees that your case is urgent, they may make an interim order without notice. This means the order will be made before the respondent is told. This is usually within 24-48 hours. If an interim order is made, your documents will be sent to the other people named as parties in your application to give them a chance to respond before a final order is made.
The Court will try to give a copy of your application to the other people named as parties in your application. They’ll be given time to respond, which could be between 21-50 days, depending on if the person lives in Aotearoa New Zealand or overseas.
If they respond, you'll be given a copy of their response.
Before a judge makes a decision, they may:
How long it takes to finalise your case in court depends on the following.
If you want to know how long your case may take, talk to your lawyer.
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Going through a change in your whānau situation can be hard. It's normal to feel overwhelmed. There are services available to help and support you through this time.
Visit our help page