O.C.G.A.

O.C.G.A. § 29-2-8 (2019)

Termination of temporary guardianship; petition for termination of guardianship

✓ O.C.G.A. — 2019 edition (Public.Resource.Org Release 73)

Code text and O.C.G.A. statutory annotations on this page reflect the 2019 Official Code of Georgia Annotated (Public.Resource.Org Release 73, 2019-08-21; public domain per Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). The Syfert case-law annotations in Notes of Decisions, below, are current.

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(a) A temporary guardianship shall terminate on the date upon which the earliest of the following occurs: the minor reaches age 18, the minor is adopted, the minor is emancipated, the minor dies, the temporary guardian dies, letters of guardianship are issued to a permanent or testamentary guardian, or a court order terminating the temporary guardianship is entered. Proof of adoption, death, or emancipation shall be filed with the court and the court may order a hearing in an appropriate case. (b) Either natural guardian of the minor may at any time petition the court to terminate a temporary guardianship; provided, however, that notice of such petition shall be provided to the temporary guardian. If no objection to the termination is filed by the temporary guardian within ten days of the notice, the court shall order the termination of the temporary guardianship. If the temporary guardian objects to the termination of the temporary guardianship within ten days of the notice, the court shall have the option to hear the objection or transfer the records relating to the temporary guardianship to the juvenile court, which shall determine, after notice and hearing, whether a

continuation or termination of the temporary guardianship is in the best interest of the minor.

History

(Code 1981, § 29-2-8, enacted by Ga. L. 2004, p. 161, § 1.)

Annotations

Law reviews. - For annual survey article discussing wills, trusts and administration of estates, see 52 Mercer L. Rev.

481 (2000). For article, ‘‘Wills, Trusts & Administration of Estates,’’ see 53 Mercer L. Rev. 499 (2001).

JUDICIAL DECISIONS Editor’s notes. - In light of the similarity of the statutory provisions, decisions under former O.C.G.A. § 29-4-4.1 are included in the annotations for this Code section. Best interest standard requires clear and convincing evidence of harm to the child. - Best interests of the child standard in O.C.G.A. § 29-2-8(b) required a guardian to prove by clear and convincing evidence that the child would suffer physical or emotional harm if custody were awarded to the biological parent and that continuation of the guardianship would promote the child’s welfare and happiness. With this narrowing construction, the best interest of the child standard in § 29-2-8(b) was constitutional. Boddie v. Daniels, 288 Ga. 143, 702 S.E.2d 172 (2010). In a mother’s petition to terminate her parents’ temporary guardianship over her child under O.C.G.A. § 15-11-14, the trial court erred in failing to consider whether the grandparents proved by clear and convincing evidence that termination would cause the child physical or long-term emo-

tional harm; therefore, remand was required for further consideration. In the Interest of K. M., 344 Ga. App. 838, No. A17A1747, 2018 Ga. App. LEXIS 147 (2018). Temporary guardianship dissolved. - Under former O.C.G.A. § 29-4-4.1(c), the trial court correctly dissolved guardianship under former § 29-4-4.1 since guardianship at time of its creation was intended to be or was represented to be temporary in nature. Hays v. Jeng, 184 Ga. App. 157, 360 S.E.2d 913 (1987) (decided under former O.C.G.A. § 29-4-4.1). Appointment to provide health insurance denied. - Since the child was living with the mother, who was not alleged to be incompetent or under any duress or difficulty with respect to her parental responsibilities, the court properly refused to appoint a temporary guardian solely for the provision of health insurance. In re Roscoe, 242 Ga. App. 440, 529 S.E.2d 897 (2000) (decided under former O.C.G.A. § 29-4-4.1). Cited in Brown v. King, 193 Ga. App. 495, 388 S.E.2d 400 (1989).

OPINIONS OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL Editor’s notes. - In light of the similarity of the statutory provisions, opinions under former O.C.G.A. § 29-4-4.1 are included in the annotations for this Code section. Cannot appoint permanent guardian where child has living parent. - Unless an appointment of a temporary guardian was made under former

O.C.G.A. § 29-4-4.1, a probate court was without authority to appoint a guardian of the person for a minor child if the child had living parents, unless the parents relinquished or forfeited their rights in the child. 1983 Op. Att’y Gen. No. U83-37 (decided under former O.C.G.A. § 29-4-4.1).

T.29, C.2, A.1, P.4

PART 4 STANDBY GUARDIANS

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 8 cases, 2010–2019 · leading case: Boddie v. Daniels, 702 S.E.2d 172 (Ga. 2010).

Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment

Boddie v. Daniels, 702 S.E.2d 172 (Ga. 2010). · cites it 8× “” OCGA § 29-2-8 (b). Mother challenged this “best interest” standard in writing as violative of her constitutional rights.”

In the Interest of K.m., a Child., 811 S.E.2d 505 (Ga. Ct. App. 2018). · cites it 18× “The mother filed her petition to terminate the guardianship under OCGA § 29-2-8, which provides, in relevant part: Either natural guardian of the minor may at any time petition the court to terminate a temporary guardianship; provided, however, that notice of such petition shall…”

Lopez v. Olson, 724 S.E.2d 837 (Ga. Ct. App. 2012). · cites it 2× “At issue was whether a continuation or termination of the guardianship was controlled by the “best interest of the minor” standard set forth in OCGA § 29-2-8 (b). Id. at 143, 146. After recounting the similarities between custody and guardianship, and noting that “the right to…”

Zinkhan v. Bruce, 699 S.E.2d 833 (Ga. Ct. App. 2010). · cites it 2× “On July 10, 2009, the Athens-Clarke County Probate Court accepted the will in common form but declined to issue letters of testamentary guardianship, finding that its grant of such letters would terminate the Bruces’ temporary guardianship (see OCGA § 29-2-8 (a)) and deprive…”

McFalls v. Onsager, 728 S.E.2d 820 (Ga. Ct. App. 2012). · cites it 2× “See OCGA § 29-2-8 (a). But the superior court’s final custody order granting custody of A.”

In the Interest of J. L., a Child (Mother) (Ga. Ct. App. 2019). · cites it 2× “OCGA § 29-2-8 (b) provides that the juvenile court “shall determine, after notice and hearing, whether a continuation or termination of the temporary 3 guardianship is in the best interest of the minor.”

Ralph McFalls v. Karen Onsager (Ga. Ct. App. 2012). · cites it 2× “See OCGA § 29-2-8 (a). But the superior court’s final custody order granting of custody of A.”

Juanita Barfield as Temp. Guardian of Hannah Hester v. Dana Butterworth (Ga. Ct. App. 2013). · cites it 2× “1) and/or 4 See also OCGA § 29-2-6 (d) (temporary guardianship cannot be established over objection of natural guardian); OCGA § 29-2-8 (b) (if natural guardian petitions for termination of the temporary guardianship and the temporary guardian does not object, “the court shall…”

Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.