Guardianship of Kiara Lantigua et al.
Annotate this CaseThe two children at issue in this case lived with their grandmother both before and after their mother died. The grandmother filed petitions seeking guardianship of the children alleging that she was a de facto guardian of the children and that the children’s father had demonstrated a lack of consistent participation with the children. After receiving notice of the guardianship petitions, the father moved the children from their home in Maine to live with him in Florida. The Maine probate court subsequently appointed the grandmother the limited permanent guardian of the children. The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment to the extent that it appointed the grandmother as the children’s limited guardian, holding that the probate court did not err in finding that the grandmother was entitled be named the children’s guardian based on her status as the children’s de facto guardian, the father’s lack of consistent participation, and the temporarily in tolerable living situation created by the father. Remanded to the probate court with instructions to specify which duties and powers are granted to the limited guardian and which parental rights and responsibilities are retained by the father.
Court Description: Corrected May 26, 2016 (Errata sheet)
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