New South Wales Consolidated Acts

TESTATOR'S FAMILY MAINTENANCE AND GUARDIANSHIP OF INFANTS ACT 1916 - SECT 14

14 Power of mother and father to appoint guardians

(1) The father of a minor may by deed or will appoint any person to be guardian of the minor after his death.

(2) The mother of a minor may by deed or will appoint any person to be guardian of the minor after her death.

(3) Any guardian so appointed shall act jointly with the mother or father, as the case may be, of the minor so long as the mother or father remains alive, unless the mother or father objects to his so acting.

(4) If the mother or father so objects, or if the guardian so appointed considers that the mother or father is unfit to have the custody of the minor, the guardian may apply to the court.
The court may either refuse to make an order (in which case the mother or father shall remain sole guardian) or make an order that the guardian so appointed shall act jointly with the mother or father, or that he shall be sole guardian of the minor.
Where the court makes an order that the guardian so appointed shall be the sole guardian of the minor, the court may make such order regarding the custody of the minor and the right of access thereto of its mother or father as, having regard to the welfare of the minor, the court may think fit, and may further order that the mother or father shall pay to the guardian towards the maintenance and education of the minor such weekly or other periodical sum as, having regard to the means of the mother or father, the court may consider reasonable.
The powers conferred by this subsection may be exercised at any time and shall include power to vary or discharge any order previously made in virtue of those powers.

(5) Where guardians are appointed by both parents, the guardians so appointed shall, after the death of the surviving parent, act jointly.

(6) If under the preceding section a guardian has been appointed by the court to act jointly with a surviving parent, he shall continue to act as guardian after the death of the surviving parent; but if the surviving parent has appointed a guardian, the guardian appointed by the court shall act jointly with the guardian appointed by the surviving parent.