IN RE GUARDIANSHIP OF R.N.B., AN INFANT
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Florida appellate court affirmed trial court's appointment of an aunt and uncle as guardians of an infant, rejecting grandparents' claim that they had an automatic superior right to guardianship under Florida Statutes § 744.312.
Section 744.312, Florida Statutes does not create an automatic or absolute right to guardianship for next of kin; the trial court may appoint any qualified person, related or not, based on the best interest of the child.
[1] Section 744.312, Florida Statutes does not grant next of kin an automatic or absolute superior right to guardianship; the trial court may appoint any qualified person, wh…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceTwo parents died leaving an infant son. Multiple surviving relatives, including grandparents, an aunt, and an uncle, sought appointment as guardian. T…
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PER CURIAM.
This is an appeal in a guardianship matter. It is basically a controversy among numerous surviving relatives over the appointment of a guardian for the infant son of two deceased parents. Pursuant to Section 744.312, Florida Statutes (1981), the trial court was required to give consideration to the appointment of the next of kin. The trial court heard extensive testimony from numerous family members, along with expert testimony, regarding the best interest of the child. The court appointed an aunt and uncle of the child, and the grandparents of the child appeal asserting that their rights to guardianship were absolutely and automatically superior to those of the aunt and uncle under Section 744.312, Florida Statutes (1981). The statute creates no such automatic right. Indeed, the statute provides that the court may appoint any person “who is qualified to act as guardian, whether related to the ward or not.”
Having reviewed the record, we conclude that the trial court gave due consideration to the grandparents, to all other relatives, and to all of the testimony and other evidence submitted. There has been no demonstration of reversible error herein, and the judgment below is affirmed.
AFFIRMED.
ANSTEAD, BERANEK and HERSEY, JJ., concur.
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In re Guardianship OF Sallie B. Stephens v. Rowe, 965 So. 2d 847 (Fla. 2d DCA 2007)…urt. Thus any “preference” for family applies only within certain discretionary bounds. The guardianship statute does not confer upon certain family members an absolute and automatic right to be appointed guardians. See In re Guardianship of R.N.B., 429 So. 2d 796, 797 (Fla. 4th DCA 1983) (“Indeed, the statute provides that the court may appoint any person ‘who is. qualified to act as guardian, whether related to the ward or not.’ ” (quoting section 744.312(1), Fla. Stat. (1981))). The best interests of the W…
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Hessick v. Hessick, Inc., 508 So. 2d 571 (Fla. 3d DCA 1987)…PER CURIAM. Affirmed. In re Guardianship of R.N.B., 429 So. 2d 796 (Fla. 4th DCA 1983); In re Guardianship of Quindt, 396 So. 2d 1217 (Fla. 3d DCA 1981); In re Guardianship of Davidson, 259 So. 2d 762 (Fla. 1st DCA 1972).…