Petition for Permanent Guardian

  1. Law
  2. Georgia Code
  3. Courts
  4. Juvenile Code
  5. Dependency Proceedings
  6. Permanent Guardianship
  7. Petition for Permanent Guardian

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The petition for the appointment of a permanent guardian pursuant to this part shall set forth:

  1. The facts upon which the court's jurisdiction is based;
  2. The name and date of birth of the child adjudicated as a dependent child;
  3. The name, address, and county of domicile of the petitioner and the petitioner's relationship to such child, if any, and, if different from the petitioner, the name, address, and county of domicile of the individual nominated by the petitioner to serve as guardian and that individual's relationship to such child, if any;
  4. A statement that:
    1. Reasonable efforts to reunify such child with his or her parents would be detrimental to such child;
    2. Termination of parental rights and adoption is not in the best interests of such child;
    3. The proposed guardian can provide a safe and permanent home for such child;
    4. The appointment of a permanent guardian for such child is in the best interests of such child and that the individual chosen as such child's guardian is the individual most appropriate to be such child's permanent guardian taking into consideration the best interests of the child; and
    5. If such child is 14 years of age or older, that the appointment of a permanent guardian for such child is in the best interests of the child and that the individual chosen by such child as the child's permanent guardian is the most appropriate individual to be such child's permanent guardian taking into consideration the best interests of the child;
  5. Whether such child was born out of wedlock and, if so, the name and address of the biological father, if known;
  6. Whether, to the petitioner's knowledge, there exists any notarized or witnessed document made by a parent of such child that deals with the guardianship of such child and the name and address of any designee named in the document;
  7. In addition to the petitioner and the nominated guardian and, if the parent of such child has not consented to the permanent guardianship, the names and addresses of the following relatives of such child whose parents' whereabouts are known:
    1. The adult siblings of such child; provided, however, that not more than three adult siblings need to be listed;
    2. If there is no adult sibling of such child, the grandparents of such child; provided, however, that not more than three grandparents need to be listed; or
    3. If there is no grandparent of such child, any three of the nearest adult relatives of such child determined according to Code Section 53-2-1;
  8. Whether a temporary guardian has been appointed for such child or a petition for the appointment of a temporary guardian has been filed or is being filed; and
  9. The reason for any omission in the petition for appointment of a permanent guardian for such child in the event full particulars are lacking.

(Code 1981, §15-11-241, enacted by Ga. L. 2013, p. 294, § 1-1/HB 242.)

Cross references.

- Discovery, T. 17, C. 16.

Power of judge of probate court to appoint guardian for minor, § 29-2-14.

Notice requirements relating to appointment of guardians for minors by judges of the probate court generally, § 29-2-17.

JUDICIAL DECISIONS

Editor's notes.

- In light of the similarity of the statutory provisions, decisions under former Code 1933, § 24A-302, pre-2000 Code Section 15-11-6 and pre-2014 Code Section 15-11-30.1, which were subsequently repealed but were succeeded by provisions in this Code section, are included in the annotations for this Code section. See the Editor's notes at the beginning of the chapter.

Jurisdiction of juvenile court in transferred custody proceeding.

- In a custody proceeding transferred from the superior court, the juvenile court was authorized to issue an order restraining the future disclosure of information contained in the juvenile court's files and records and to punish for contempt any past unauthorized disclosure of that material. In re Burton, 271 Ga. 491, 521 S.E.2d 568 (1999) (decided under former O.C.G.A. § 15-11-6).

Notice and hearing requirements of Juvenile Code mandatory.

- Juvenile court committed reversible error in granting the children's paternal grandparents custody and guardianship of the children because the court failed to follow the statutory mandates outlined in the Juvenile Code as the mother did not consent to the transfer of permanent guardianship and no guardianship petition was filed and provided to the mother with the notice of proceedings. In the Interest of J. C., 350 Ga. App. 34, 827 S.E.2d 717 (2019).

Award of permanent guardianship affirmed.

- Award of permanent guardianship to the aunt was affirmed because the parent gave no reason to believe that any objection to taking judicial notice of the deprivation order would have had any merit, nor did the parent identify specific evidence that the parent would have brought forward to challenge the earlier deprivation order. In the Interest of L. B., 319 Ga. App. 173, 735 S.E.2d 162 (2012) (decided under former O.C.G.A. § 15-11-30.1)

Petition lacked required information.

- Because the mother did not consent to the guardianship, given the mandatory language of O.C.G.A. § 15-11-241, and the juvenile court's obligation to determine whether the grandmother was the individual most appropriate to be the child's permanent guardian, the trial court erred by granting the grandmother's petition because the court lacked the information required by § 15-11-241(7) and (9), including the names and addresses of relatives. In the Interest of N. J., 335 Ga. App. 477, 781 S.E.2d 585 (2016).

OPINIONS OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL

Editor's notes.

- In light of the similarity of the statutory provisions, decisions under former Code 1933, § 24A-302 and pre-2000 Code Section 15-11-6, which were subsequently repealed but were succeeded by provisions in this Code section, are included in the annotations for this Code section. See the Editor's notes at the beginning of the chapter.

Jurisdiction to appoint guardians for children.

- Former statute implicitly recognized that courts other than juvenile courts had jurisdiction to appoint guardians for children. 1976 Op. Att'y Gen. No. U76-15 (decided under former Code 1933, § 24A-302).

Support proceedings.

- Subsection (b) of former O.C.G.A. § 15-11-6 (see now O.C.G.A. § 15-11-15) authorized the superior court to transfer to the juvenile court support cases not involving a question of paternity as well as those support proceedings originating from a court-established support unit in the judicial circuit. 1989 Op. Att'y Gen. No. U89-7 (decided under former O.C.G.A. § 15-11-6).

Superior court may not transfer a Uniform Reciprocal Enforcement of Support Act proceeding to a juvenile court under subsection (b) of former O.C.G.A. § 15-11-6 (see now O.C.G.A. § 15-11-15). 1989 Op. Att'y Gen. No. U89-7 (decided under former O.C.G.A. § 15-11-6).

Paternity questions.

- Since no provision under subsection (b) of former O.C.G.A. § 15-11-6 (see now O.C.G.A. § 15-11-15) would permit the transfer of paternity questions to a juvenile court, no case in which paternity was involved may be transferred under that statute by a superior court to a juvenile court. 1989 Op. Att'y Gen. No. U89-7 (decided under former O.C.G.A. § 15-11-6).

Permanent custody determination upon divorce decree.

- When a superior court transfers the question of custody determination to a juvenile court pursuant to subsection (b) of former O.C.G.A. § 15-11-6 (see now O.C.G.A. § 15-11-15), the juvenile court may make only a temporary custody determination pending the outcome of the divorce action; but if the divorce decree is entered the juvenile court can then make a permanent custody determination. 1994 Op. Att'y Gen. No. U94-1 (decided under former O.C.G.A. § 15-11-6).

RESEARCH REFERENCES

Am. Jur. 2d.

- 39 Am. Jur. 2d, Guardian and Ward, § 60 et seq. 42 Am. Jur. 2d, Infants, § 27 et seq. 47 Am. Jur. 2d, Juvenile Courts and Delinquent and Dependent Children, § 39 et seq.

C.J.S.

- 39 C.J.S., Guardian and Ward, § 1 et seq. 43 C.J.S., Infants, § 180 et seq. 67A C.J.S., Parent and Child, § 366 et seq.

U.L.A.

- Uniform Juvenile Court Act (U.L.A.) § 3.

ALR.

- Parent's involuntary confinement, or failure to care for child as result thereof, as evincing neglect, unfitness, or the like in dependency or divestiture proceeding, 79 A.L.R.3d 417.


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