In re Guardianship of S.H.
Annotate this CaseChild was born to Father and Mother in Minnesota. After the family moved to Arkansas, Father's parents (Grandparents) filed a petition for guardianship of Child. The court ultimately entered an order of guardianship appointing Grandparents as guardians of Child. Mother filed a petition to terminate guardianship, asserting several claims. After a hearing, the circuit court entered an order denying the petition to terminate the guardianship. The Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed and remanded in part, holding (1) the application of Ark. Code Ann. 28-65-401 in this instance violated Mother's constitutional rights because when a natural parent, who has not been deemed unfit and who has consented to a guardianship, files a petition to terminate that guardianship, that parent must put forth evidence that the guardianship is no longer necessary, and once the court is satisfied that the conditions necessitating the guardianship have been removed, the guardians shoulder the burden of rebutting the presumption that termination is in the child's best interest; and (2) the circuit court abused its discretion where it did not apply the correct legal standard in evaluating Grandparents' motion for a psychological evaluation.
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