Short answer. Yes. The Family Code allows courts to appoint a guardian of a child's property, separate from whoever exercises parental authority, whenever the child's best interests require it. Courts may likewise appoint a guardian ad litem for a specific case, without that appointment replacing your parental authority generally.
What the law says
The courts may appoint a guardian of the child's property or a guardian ad litem when the best interests of the child so requires.
Family Code, Article 222 — Guardian of the Child's Property; Guardian ad Litem. Read the full provision →
Two distinct kinds of guardian, one standard for both
Article 222 names two separate appointments a court can make: a guardian of the child's property, who manages assets belonging to the child, and a guardian ad litem, who represents the child specifically in litigation. They serve different functions — one is ongoing property administration, the other is representation tied to a particular case — but the article subjects both to the same standard: appointment happens when the best interests of the child so requires.
Why a property guardian can exist alongside a parent
Parents ordinarily administer property that belongs to their minor children as part of parental authority, but that arrangement is not absolute or automatically adequate in every situation. Where circumstances put the child's property at risk — a conflict of interest between parent and child over the property, mismanagement, or a parent unable or unwilling to administer it properly — a court may step in and appoint someone specifically responsible for that property, separate from the general exercise of parental authority over the child's person.
The best-interests standard is doing the real work
Article 222 does not list specific triggering events; it centers everything on whether appointment serves the best interests of the child. That makes the inquiry fact-driven rather than mechanical — a court will look at the actual risk to the child's property or the actual need for independent representation in litigation, not at a fixed checklist. This flexibility cuts both ways: it allows intervention in situations a rigid list might miss, but it also means the appointment is not automatic just because someone requests it.
What this means if you are a parent, or concerned about a child's property
If you are a parent worried that a court proceeding might result in someone else being appointed to manage your child's property, understand that this is not a routine step — it turns on whether the child's best interests genuinely call for it, and ordinary parental administration remains the norm otherwise. If you are seeking such an appointment because you believe a child's property is at risk, focus on documenting the specific facts showing why the child's interests require a separate guardian, since that is what the statute actually asks a court to weigh.