257 results for 'cat:"Family Law" AND cat:"Guardianship"'.
J. Arterburn finds the juvenile court properly terminated the father’s parental rights to his minor child. Several children of various parentage were removed from the mother’s care due to neglect and drug use, and the father in this case was identified through a paternity test. A case manager informed him of the child’s eating needs, and he failed to demonstrate his ability to meet them. He was also required to attend the child’s medical appointments but failed to follow through. The father has not acquired the skills to care for the child and has not established that he is a fit parent. The court properly denied his request for visitation pending appeal. Affirmed.
Court: Nebraska Court Of Appeals, Judge: Arterburn, Filed On: October 10, 2023, Case #: A-23-143, Categories: Evidence, family Law, guardianship
J. Bishop finds the district court properly denied the mother’s request for grandparent visitation outside the United States for the children after granting joint physical custody, with the father receiving sole legal custody pursuant to the divorce decree. The court determined that the risk of the mother taking taking the children to Africa was “too substantial” considering her “previous noncompliance.” The mother also failed to assign other arguments as error. Affirmed.
Court: Nebraska Court Of Appeals, Judge: Bishop, Filed On: October 10, 2023, Case #: A-22-894, Categories: Evidence, family Law, guardianship
J. Perluss denies as moot the father’s appeal of the juvenile court’s removal of his children. The children were removed from the father and placed with their mother after the family services agency determined that the parents engaged in physical and verbal altercations in the presence of the children. Prior to the father’s filing, the juvenile court terminated its jurisdiction and issued joint legal and physical custody based on the parent’s mediated agreement. Neither the juvenile court or court of appeals has jurisdiction to hear the issues.
Court: California Courts Of Appeal, Judge: Perluss, Filed On: October 9, 2023, Case #: B317838, Categories: family Law, Jurisdiction, guardianship
J. Neeley finds the trial court properly ordered the mother’s children returned from the father in Israel. After the parents married in the U.S. and the mother become pregnant with twins, the Israeli-citizen father returned to Israel and divorced the mother because she was not Jewish. The mother travelled to Israel, where she gave birth, then returned with the children to the US. The father then had a petition granted for the children’s return to Israel. The children’s residence for two years has been Texas. Though the father says that he did not receive sufficient notice of the hearing on the mother’s motion, the matter before the court does not implicate the deprivation of his liberty interest in custody, but the correct physical location of the twins. The expired date for the children’s return is modified. Affirmed as modified.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Neeley, Filed On: October 6, 2023, Case #: 12-23-00042-CV, Categories: family Law, International Law, guardianship
Per curiam, the appellate court denies the mother’s petition for mandamus, filed seven months after her divorce, seeking the return of her children pending investigation into her allegations of the father’s sexual abuse. The divorce decree appoints the father as the children’s sole managing conservator, naming the mother as a possessory conservator. It also found “that neither possession nor access by [the mother] to the children ... would be in the best interest of the children and that it is not in the best interest of the children for the parties to share possession of the children pursuant to a Standard Possession Order.” The mother fails to establish an abuse of discretion.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: October 5, 2023, Case #: 09-23-00288-CV, Categories: family Law, guardianship
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J. Wright finds the trial court properly dismissed the father’s child custody claims in this divorce proceeding, denying his motion to reinstate the suit. The couple was married in Japan, where the children were born. The family moved to California, where the couple separated; then the husband moved to Texas before the wife filed for divorce. The husband provided no evidence of how long he had possession of information written in Japanese and did not provide evidence that he could not translate the Japanese information himself, or through an interpreter (or “Google Translate”) at least 45 days prior to trial. The court properly made implied findings that the father’s failures were “intentional or due to conscious indifference.” Affirmed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Wright, Filed On: October 5, 2023, Case #: 09-22-00101-CV, Categories: Evidence, family Law, guardianship
J. Murphy finds the circuit court properly terminated the mother’s parental rights to her five minor children. The department exercised emergency custody of the children after their mother left them alone so that she could scrap her vehicle for money. She then used meth, which resulted in her discharge from a temporary shelter. The record supports the best interest finding and does not show any clear error in the court’s finding that the children would be at risk of potential harm if returned to the mother. Affirmed.
Court: Arkansas Court Of Appeals, Judge: Murphy, Filed On: October 4, 2023, Case #: CV-23-163, Categories: Evidence, family Law, guardianship
J. Gladwin finds the circuit court properly granted summary judgment to the parents regarding the grandmother’s application for visitation rights. The parents sent the grandmother a message stating that they thought her husband was grooming the child for sex and the grandmother refused to comply with the parents’ requested rules regarding this. Evidence establishes that the grandmother’s relationship with the child would continue if she would cooperate, and she has failed to show that visitation was “altogether denied.” On the grandmother’s cross-appeal requesting reversal of an earlier order for an extension of time for the mother to file the record on appeal, the court of appeals also affirms. Affirmed on direct and cross appeals.
Court: Arkansas Court Of Appeals, Judge: Gladwin, Filed On: October 4, 2023, Case #: CV-22-260, Categories: Evidence, family Law, guardianship
J. Virden finds the trial court properly entered a change of custody order as to the divorced parties’ older minor daughter, and awarding custody of the younger daughter to the father. The trial court analyzed the custody arrangements under different standards, finding the living arrangements had significantly changed due to the father’s relocation. The mother failed to rebut the presumption that the relocation is in the older child’s best interest. The father testified that he had been convicted of sexual assault before the parties married. Though the mother asks the court of appeals to simply reverse and grant her custody, this court cannot act as a fact-finding body, and must reverse and remand for a specific finding on whether father posed no danger. Affirmed in part. Reversed in part and remanded.
Court: Arkansas Court Of Appeals, Judge: Virden, Filed On: October 4, 2023, Case #: CV-22-382, Categories: Evidence, family Law, guardianship
J. Klappenbach finds the circuit court properly adjudicated three of the mother’s children dependent-neglected, granting permanent custody of one child to the father. After one of the children was admitted to the hospital for a cough, staff became concerned about the mother’s mental stability as she persistently reported with “pressured and erratic” speech her concerns that the child may have meningitis, HIV, herpes, sepsis or toxic-shock syndrome. The mother was reported to family services after the father told hospital staff that she was using Suboxone and had told him that the child was dying. Whether her behavior was attributable to drug use, a mental health crisis, or a concussion, as claimed, doctors were concerned that she would not provide proper care and supervision for her child. All evidence supports the court’s dependency-neglect finding. Affirmed.
Court: Arkansas Court Of Appeals, Judge: Klappenbach, Filed On: October 4, 2023, Case #: CV-23-220, Categories: family Law, Health Care, guardianship
J. Virden finds the circuit court properly terminated the father’s parental rights to his minor child. The department filed a petition for emergency custody and dependency neglect alleging that the children were removed from the home due to parental drug use, inadequate supervision and medical neglect. The petition was filed after a family service worker dropped by the home to administer a drug test as part of an open dependency-neglect case regarding another sibling. Both parents were not in compliance with the current plan, and both produced cold urine samples. All evidence supports termination. Arguments regarding permanency goals are not preserved and would still fail because the potential family placements for the children are with a maternal relative and any rights of the paternal relatives were not derivative of their relationship with the child. Affirmed.
Court: Arkansas Court Of Appeals, Judge: Virden, Filed On: October 4, 2023, Case #: CV-23-195, Categories: family Law, Due Process, guardianship
J. Hixson finds the circuit court properly terminated the mother’s parental rights to her two minor children. The department filed a petition for emergency custody and dependency-neglect after the children were verified by protective services to be dirty with mildew and dried feces, covered with infected insect bites, lacking electricity and water, and had been seen outside in the road without supervision. The mother’s arguments for reunification lack merit because she has not made progress with her substance abuse program. The court was presented with ample evidence of potential harm to support the best-interest finding. Affirmed.
Court: Arkansas Court Of Appeals, Judge: Hixson, Filed On: October 4, 2023, Case #: CV-23-243, Categories: Evidence, family Law, guardianship
J. Chung finds that the lower court improperly granted limited guardianship of a minor to the cousins of the child's mother. Under the law, the court is required to appoint the parents' guardian of choice unless there is evidence such a move would not be in the best interest of the child. The lower court did not make any findings on this issue or determine if doing so would be best for the child, so further proceedings are needed. Reversed.
Court: Washington Court Of Appeals, Judge: Chung, Filed On: October 2, 2023, Case #: 84755-4-I, Categories: family Law, guardianship
J. Cadish finds the district court improperly terminated the minor child’s guardianship with his maternal grandmother after being removed from his mother when he tested positive for meth at birth. The termination investigation centered on the death of the child’s twin brother, which CPS originally claimed happened within a few days of the grandmother’s guardianship. The grandmother had the children for several months before the child’s death and no charges were brought after the death was found to have been caused by positional asphyxiation while the child slept. The district court did not give proper notice that it was considering termination such that the parties had a meaningful opportunity to be heard. The court failed to follow due process. Reversed and remanded with directions.
Court: Nevada Supreme Court, Judge: Cadish, Filed On: September 28, 2023, Case #: 84274, Categories: family Law, Due Process, guardianship
J. Stiglich finds the district court properly awarded sole legal custody of the divorced couple’s child to the father for the limited purpose of vaccinating him against Covid-19. Though the parents originally shared custody, they disagreed on whether their 11-year-old child should be vaccinated. The district court correctly found that vaccination was in the child’s best interest based on the pediatrician’s recommendation and government and professional groups’ guidelines and research results. Consideration of other factors presented would not change the result. Affirmed.
Court: Nevada Supreme Court, Judge: Stiglich, Filed On: September 28, 2023, Case #: 84685, Categories: family Law, guardianship, Covid-19
J. Gladwin finds that the circuit court improperly ordered that one of the children remain in foster care. Although the dependency-neglect finding is proper as to one of the children since the father committed sexual abuse and the mother took no action to stop it, statute requires that in considering disposition alternatives, the court “shall give preference to the least restrictive disposition consistent with the [child's] best interest.” The court did not make “any findings as to adjudication.” Because the court declined to adjudicate the child dependent-neglect, it cannot jump to the disposition alternative of foster care. Reversed in part.
Court: Arkansas Court Of Appeals, Judge: Gladwin , Filed On: September 27, 2023, Case #: CV-23-150, Categories: family Law, guardianship
J. Brown finds that the county court properly denied the grandmother's request for placement, guardianship, or adoption of her daughter's child after a parental rights termination. The court properly considered relative placement, but the child's mother lives in the grandmother's home, bringing continued drug use and environmental factors into play. Also, the grandmother allowed men to live with her who had sexually abused her daughter. Affirmed.
Court: Arkansas Court Of Appeals, Judge: Brown , Filed On: September 27, 2023, Case #: CV-23-149, Categories: family Law, guardianship
J. Hixson finds the trial court properly denied the grandparents and emergency coguardians of their daughter’s child’s motion to disqualify their daughter's attorney. The attorney worked in a law firm with a now deceased lawyer who represented the grandparents against their daughter in the initial guardianship proceedings and was responsible for disposing of his files. The trial court found the attorney’s testimony showing a lack of knowledge of confidential information was credible, and the grandparents’ evidence failed to show the attorney gained knowledge of any information that would jeopardize the trial’s integrity. Affirmed.
Court: Oklahoma Courts Of Appeal, Judge: Hixson, Filed On: September 21, 2023, Case #: 120831, Categories: family Law, guardianship
J. Bassett finds that the lower court improperly granted a maternal grandfather's request for grandparent visitation. A grandparent lacks standing to petition for visitation unless the only condition that led to them seeking visitation is a divorce, death, end of parental rights, or other absence of a nuclear family. In this case, the grandfather's access to his grandchildren was restricted because of conflicts between the grandfather and his daughter prior to her divorce. Reversed.
Court: New Hampshire Supreme Court, Judge: Bassett, Filed On: September 19, 2023, Case #: 2021-0587, Categories: family Law, guardianship
J. Murphy finds that the circuit court properly terminated the grandmother's temporary guardianship of her grandchildren. The grandparents originally petitioned for temporary guardianship, alleging that the children were in imminent danger of environmental neglect or abuse due to the drug use of their daughter. The court properly afforded the father the fit-parent presumption in terminating the guardianship. Cited case law states that the "mere fact that a child may have... opportunities with another family cannot be enough to keep [them] away from an otherwise fit parent.” Affirmed.
Court: Arkansas Court Of Appeals, Judge: Murphy , Filed On: September 13, 2023, Case #: CV-22-522, Categories: family Law, guardianship
J. Gruber finds the circuit court properly adjudicated the parents' children dependent-neglected. A family service worker's affidavit set out that one of the children had been absent from school and that no bruising had been observed prior to those absences. Bruising was first observed when he returned to school, and the child relayed that his dad had hit him with a belt. All evidence supports the dependent-neglected finding. Affirmed.
Court: Arkansas Court Of Appeals, Judge: Gruber , Filed On: September 6, 2023, Case #: CV-23-89, Categories: family Law, guardianship
J. Hixson finds the circuit court properly terminated both parents' rights to their minor children. DHS originally became involved with the family when one of the children tested positive for THC at birth. The children remained in the family home while DHS offered services, including random visits and drug screens. DHS exercised a seventy-two-hour hold on the children due to the parents' continued drug use, finding head lice and bed bugs on the children at a medical checkup. The parents' behaviors over the course of the case does not show enough stability to render the court’s finding of potential harm clearly erroneous. Affirmed.
Court: Arkansas Court Of Appeals, Judge: Hixson , Filed On: September 6, 2023, Case #: CV-23-11, Categories: Evidence, family Law, guardianship
J. Welch finds the district court properly denied the father's request for sole custody of his minor children and modification of his parenting time. The father alleges that the mother's move was not in the children’s best interests, substantially interfering with his parenting time. He also claims the mother has failed to co-parent. The district court found that the mother’s move constituted a material change in circumstances and determined that the children’s best interests required a modification to parenting time. This determination was within the court’s responsibility to conduct an independent inquiry into the children’s interests. All assigned errors have been properly considered. Affirmed.
Court: Nebraska Court Of Appeals, Judge: Welch , Filed On: September 5, 2023, Case #: A-22-966, Categories: family Law, guardianship
J. Gladwin finds the circuit court properly awarded the parents joint custody of their shared child. The evidence established that the father was able to provide a stable home life during the mother’s prior dependency-neglect process, that he did not contribute to the neglect, that the child enjoyed both homes, that the child’s attorney ad litem declared that the child was attached to both parents and his half siblings on both sides, that the attorney ad litem stated that he believed it was in the child’s best interest to have “as much contact with both parents as … possible”, and that he believed both parents are fit. No clear error is found, and the superior position of circuit court is given deference. Affirmed.
Court: Arkansas Court Of Appeals, Judge: Gladwin, Filed On: August 30, 2023, Case #: CV-22-712, Categories: Evidence, family Law, guardianship
J. Bishop finds the district court properly denied the father’s request to modify custody of the children to a joint physical custody arrangement with their unmarried mother. The district court appropriately emphasized stability in the children’s routines and minimalization of contact and conflict between the parents. Although the parents’ communication has improved, disagreements still affect the children negatively. The district court, though, did not provide any explanation for deviating from child support guidelines, and abused its discretion in failing to set off non-reimbursed health care costs per child per year before triggering the father’s obligation to contribute. Affirmed in part. Affirmed in part as modified. Reversed in part. Vacated in part.
Court: Nebraska Court Of Appeals, Judge: Bishop, Filed On: August 29, 2023, Case #: A-22-786, Categories: family Law, guardianship, Contract
J. Rowe finds the circuit court improperly denied the department’s expedited petition to terminate the father’s parental rights after police discovered baggies, a scale, a glass pipe and needles in the home pursuant to an FBI investigation into child pornography. They also confirmed that the father transmitted child sexual abuse images on the internet. The court’s findings that the department failed to prove that termination was supported on statutory grounds requiring actual harm lack evidentiary support. A best interest finding is supported by evidence, and termination is the least restrictive means to protect the child. The court’s legal conclusions also conflict with applicable statutes. Reversed and remanded.
Court: Florida Courts Of Appeal, Judge: Rowe, Filed On: August 29, 2023, Case #: 1D22-2969, Categories: Evidence, family Law, guardianship
[Consolidated.] J. Moore finds the county court sitting as juvenile court properly terminated both parents’ rights to their children. The children were placed in the custody of the Department of Health and Human Services due to concerns of meth use and domestic violence in the home and have remained in out-of-home placements for the last three years. The parents have made inconsistent progress with case plan compliance with drug testing, and maintaining a positive coparenting relationship free from yelling, hitting, kicking, stabbing or other violent behavior. There have been relapses in drug use, missed visits and a failure to address domestic violence issues. Affirmed.
Court: Nebraska Court Of Appeals, Judge: Moore, Filed On: August 29, 2023, Case #: A-23-089, Categories: family Law, guardianship
J. Bishop finds the juvenile court properly terminated the mother’s parental rights to her children. The state has alleged that the children lacked proper care by reason of the faults or habits of the mother, who signed a voluntary agreement to place the children in temporary custody with the Department of Health and Human Services. Both children tested positive for amphetamine, cocaine and cannabinoids, and the mother has failed to work with the department on a voluntary basis. She has also failed to provide safe, stable and appropriate housing and has left the children with inappropriate caregivers. All evidence supports the best interest determination. Affirmed.
Court: Nebraska Court Of Appeals, Judge: Bishop, Filed On: August 29, 2023, Case #: A-23-055, Categories: family Law, guardianship
J. Golemon finds the trial court properly entered a modification order granting the father exclusive right to designate the child’s primary residence. Sufficient evidence, including the child’s outcry of sexual abuse occurring the mother’s home, the mother’s inability to comply with orders and proceedings, and CPS’s ruling out of the mother’s claims of abuse by the father supports the court’s implied findings that a material change of circumstances had occurred and that the modification was in the child’s best interest. Affirmed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Golemon, Filed On: August 24, 2023, Case #: 09-21-00286-CV, Categories: Evidence, family Law, guardianship
J. Worthen finds the trial court properly terminated the mother’s parental rights, a decision wherein the foster parents, who had been fostering the child for more than 12 months, intervened alleging that the mother’s proposed conservatorship would not be in the child’s best interest. The mother now alleges that the fosters do not have standing to intervene. At the final hearing the mother testified to meth use, that she was living with a male friend who had “been to prison,” had drug-related criminal history, and was recently arrested for driving without a license. The record demonstrates that awarding her custody would result in physical and emotional harm to the child. The trial court did not err in finding the intervenors had standing. Affirmed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Worthen, Filed On: August 23, 2023, Case #: 12-23-00128-CV, Categories: Evidence, family Law, guardianship