Guardianship of C.E.
Annotate this CaseC.E. was three years old at the time of the relevant hearing. Mother's family and friends were actively involved in C.E.’s life. Appellant, Mother’s sister, cared for C.E. on Mondays and every other weekend. C.E. also spent significant time with Grandmother. Mother’s close friend, B, was considered to be like a sister to Mother and spent a lot of time with C.E. Mother died after a drowning accident in 2015. After Mother’s death, C.E. initially lived with Father; he also spent time with Appellant, B, and the rest of Mother’s family; they eventually became concerned about Father’s ability to parent C.E. Father was the subject of a domestic violence restraining order involving his children from a prior relationship. They filed a guardianship petition. The court granted temporary guardianship and subsequently conducted a hearing. Although Father initially appeared to challenge the petition, he left the courthouse after the court denied him a continuance. The court granted the petition. Six months later, Appellant filed a petition to be appointed as C.E.’s replacement guardian. Appellant also sought adoption. Father supported Appellant’s petition as did Appellant’s other family members. The court of appeal reversed the denial of the petition. The trial court erred when it failed to consolidate the guardianship action with the adoption proceeding, resulting in prejudice to Appellant.
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