Guardian Ad Litem

A guardian ad litem was appointed for some of the children of James Parker who died in Bedford County, Virginia, in 1833. This indicated that those children were under the age of majority at the time of the appointment. The guardianship appointment, since it was only as a guardian ad litem, was only to represent the children’s interest in a court case regarding the estate of James Parker. This guardian was not a guardian of the children’s estate or a guardian who took physical custody of them.

In many locations, guardians of a child’s estate may have to make periodic reportings to the court and file other documents regarding the child’s financial interests. The guardian ad litem was only appointed for one specific purpose and usually there are no other records of the guardianship other than those of the case for which they were appointed.