Guardianship certificate for a minor’s property

Who can act for a child without a court order

Under Muslim law as applied in Pakistan, the father is the natural guardian of his minor child’s property; after him, the person he appointed by will and then the paternal grandfather. A mother, even one who has custody, is not automatically the guardian of the child’s property.

So the usual case is a father who has died, leaving a widow with children who have inherited a share. To deal with that share, the mother or another relative applies to be appointed guardian of the property.

When you need a guardianship certificate

• Releasing a deceased parent’s bank balance, savings certificates or shares that pass to a minor heir.
• Transferring a minor’s share of an inherited house or land, or receiving rent from it.
• Claiming a pension, insurance, provident fund or compensation payable to a child.
• Opening or operating an account in the child’s name where the bank asks for one.
• Before any sale, mortgage or gift of the child’s immovable property, which also needs the court’s permission under section 29.

Guardianship and succession certificates

They do different jobs. A succession certificate (from a civil court, or NADRA’s succession certificate under the 2020 Act) shows who the heirs are and lets the deceased’s assets be released. A guardianship certificate lets someone receive and manage a minor heir’s share. Where some heirs are minors, both are often needed.

How to apply

1. Petition the Guardian Court (section 7, in the form section 10 sets out) where the child ordinarily resides, listing the child’s property and your relationship to the child.
2. Notices. The court notifies the child’s relatives and usually orders a public notice in a newspaper, so anyone can object. Consent statements from the other heirs help.
3. Hearing. The court decides on the child’s welfare (section 17): who is best placed to protect the property.
4. Conditions. The court may require a surety bond and a list of the property, and can order the child’s money kept in a profit-bearing account or savings certificates, with no withdrawals without its order.
5. Certificate issued. Show it to the bank, registrar or employer; keep certified copies.

What the guardian may and may not do

A guardian of property must deal with it as carefully as a prudent person would with their own (section 27), and use it for the child: maintenance, education, health. The guardian may not, without the court’s prior permission, sell, mortgage, gift or exchange the child’s immovable property, or lease it for more than five years or beyond a year after the child comes of age (section 29). The court can ask for accounts and can remove a guardian who misuses the property (section 39).

When guardianship ends

Once a court appoints a guardian, the child reaches majority at 21, not 18 (Majority Act, 1875, s.3). The guardian’s powers then end (section 41) and the property and accounts are handed over to the young adult. Guardianship also ends if the court removes or discharges the guardian, or the child dies.