A legal ward was a minor child who had been transferred into the custody of another who was known as a legal guardian. After her parents were killed, Michael Burnham became a ward of Sarek. (DIS: "Battle at the Binary Stars") In 2269, James T. Kirk ordered Nyota Uhura to run a computer check on Rayna Kapec, who Flint claimed was his legal ward after the death of her parents. (TOS: "Requiem for Methuselah" )