Aunt, Uncle, or Sibling Guardianship in Illinois: How Relatives Other Than Grandparents File

Most guardianship guides talk about grandparents. But in Illinois, aunts, uncles, older adult siblings, and other relatives file guardianship petitions regularly — and the legal process is identical regardless of your specific relationship to the child.

The Law Does Not Distinguish by Relative Type

Under Section 11-5 of the Illinois Probate Act (755 ILCS 5/11-5), any "interested person" can petition for appointment as guardian of a minor. The statute does not give grandparents a special lane or a lower bar. An aunt has the same legal standing requirements as a grandmother. An uncle files the same forms. An older sibling who is 18 or older can petition just as any other adult relative can.

The critical question is not your relationship to the child. It is whether you satisfy the statutory standing requirements.

Standing: The Same Test for Everyone

When a living parent whose parental rights have not been terminated is known and willing and able to make and carry out day-to-day care decisions, the court generally cannot appoint a guardian. The statutory exceptions for a living parent include:

• The parent voluntarily relinquished physical custody of the child
• The parent consented to the guardianship in open court or in a notarized writing
• The parent is unable to give consent or receive notice due to an administrative separation (such as immigration detention)

If the child has a living parent who is present, fit, and willing to care for them, the court will not appoint a guardian — no matter how close your relationship to the child or how long the child has lived with you. This is rooted in the constitutional principle that fit parents have a fundamental liberty interest in the care and custody of their children, as recognized by the U.S. Supreme Court in Troxel v. Granville (2000).

What an Aunt or Uncle Needs to Know

The filing process is the same as for any petitioner:

1. Complete the statewide petition packet — Petition for Guardianship of a Minor (Form 1601.1), Oath of Guardian, and all required attachments.
2. Background checks — Some circuits, including Cook County, require CANTS 689 and fingerprint-based criminal history screening for adult household members. Check your circuit's instructions for who must be screened and how.
3. File through eFileIL — or on paper with a Rule 9(d) exemption.
4. Serve notice — on the living, adoptive, or adjudicated parents, the child (if 14+), any currently serving court-appointed or short-term guardian, and adult nearest kin when the parents are deceased or unreachable.
5. Attend the hearing — the judge reviews everything and enters the order if all requirements are met.

The fact that you are an aunt, uncle, or sibling does not add extra steps or extra scrutiny. If anything, what may feel different is the family dynamics: filing for guardianship of a niece or nephew when a sibling (the child's parent) is unable to care for them is emotionally harder than the paperwork suggests.

Older Sibling Guardianship

An adult sibling (18 or older) can file for guardianship of a younger sibling who is still a minor. This situation comes up when parents are incarcerated, deceased, in treatment, or otherwise unable to care for the child, and the older sibling has already stepped into the caregiving role.

The standing and procedural requirements are the same. The court applies the same legal standard regardless of the petitioner's age and considers whether the appointment serves the child's best interests.

If a minor aged 14 or older is the child in question, they have the statutory right to nominate their preferred guardian using the Nomination of Guardian by Minor form. When an older sibling has been the primary caretaker, the minor's nomination often aligns with the petition.

Non-Relative Family Friends

Close family friends — sometimes called "fictive kin" — can also petition. Non-relatives do not have inherent standing based on blood relationship, so the petition and evidence may need to address the nature of the relationship more explicitly.

If you are not a blood relative and the child is in the custody of a parent, the allocation of parental responsibilities path under the IMDMA (750 ILCS 5/601.2) requires even stricter standing: the child must not be in the physical custody of either parent. Consult a family law attorney before filing.

Grandparent Custody: The Same Process

For grandparents specifically searching for their options: the process above applies to you, too. Illinois does not have a separate "grandparent guardianship" statute. Grandparent visitation (under IMDMA Section 602.9) is a different and much narrower remedy — it grants visitation time, not custody or decision-making authority.

If you need legal authority over the child's schooling, medical care, and daily life, guardianship under the Probate Act is the path, and it works the same for grandparents as for any other relative.

Putting It Together

The Illinois Guardianship and Custody Court Process Guide covers every step from choosing the right legal path through the hearing and your post-order duties. The process is the same whether you are an aunt, uncle, grandparent, older sibling, or close family friend.

See more Illinois guides →