Under Prob. Code 1003, a court may, but is not required to, appoint a guardian ad litem for minors named as parties in the action. If the court doesn’t appoint a guardian, it must itself protect the minor’s interests. Here, a guardian ad litem was appointed for the minors in related litigation, but not in this proceeding. The guardian ad litem negotiated a minor’s compromise for this case as well as for the proceeding in which he was appointed. Although the court could have rejected the settlement on the ground that the guardian had gone beyond the duties the court had delegated to him, it was not required to do so, and by approving the settlement, properly accepted the guardian’s assistance.