Can guardianship be revoked?

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I have an autistic friend who has abusive parents. The father is physically abusive but is in a high authoritative position as a pastor in a small town in the deep south. Anyhow, I'm wondering if they may have guardianship over him and just never told him. From what he's told me, probably not. But I don't really understand the whole guardianship process either. Just what my mom did when she tried to get it over me. I don't know if she actually tried, or if it wasn't just a threat. But anyhow, I wonder if they could have gotten it over my friend and just never told him about it. And if they did, could it be revoked? They mostly control him to keep him from speaking out about the abuse.

How old is this guy?

Unfortunately, parents---abusive or otherwise---have automatic "guardianship" over their children until they turn 18 to 21 (depending on the state).

Perhaps, you mean that this guy's a disabled adult and they have "guardianship" over him?

I would guess that the only way to "revoke" guardianship is if the parents are arrested for assault, or have proven to be financially irresponsible.

There are too many unknowns in this story to give you good advice. I believe it could be possible to have guardianship revoked, but it might take contacting a lawyer or perhaps the locality's social service agency. An allegation of physical abuse would presumably be sufficient to revoke guardianship. But if your friend is living at home, they may find they are no longer welcome to stay if they challenge the guardianship. It's not at all clear, from what you have said, whether this person is capable of living independently. If they rock the boat, they might end up in an unfortunate residential placement.

Also I have to mention that you can't necessarily accept the friend's judgment of what constitutes abuse. He or she may have limited perspective.

In my state, anyone can call in suspected abuse, neglect or exploitation to a Abuse Hotline and you do have the option to remain anonymous. The abuse investigators then have 24 hours to find the person suspected of being abused and investigate. The investigator will insist on interviewing the person alone with no parents or anyone else present to hear or manipulate the interview. If the person is in actual danger, they will be placed immediately somewhere else.

That said, the standard of proven abuse is pretty high. The investigator will also interview the parents, any social workers involved, school teachers, etc. If the person is intellectually impaired, the investigator may choose to believe the parents over the individual, unless there is some other indication of the abuse. Sad, but true.

If the parents are the legal guardians, it is almost impossible to revoke the guardianship, in my state, but it can be done. Guardianship law differs by state.

You should be able to find out more about your state's guardianship and abuse laws and processes with a google search.