Opinion ID: 2636685
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Termination of Mr. Nuosci's Parental Rights Was in A.C.M.'s Best Interests

Text: ¶ 30 The juvenile court correctly determined that termination of Mr. Nuosci's parental rights would be in A.C.M.'s best interests. A court may only consider evidence of the child's best interests after finding that the parent does not meet the minimum threshold of fitness. State ex rel. G.D., 894 P.2d 1278, 1284 (Utah Ct.App.1995) ([I]t is unconstitutional to terminate a parent's rights based upon a finding of the best interests of the child without first finding that the parent is below some minimum threshold of fitness.). To determine the best interests of the child, the court must consider the physical, mental, or emotional condition and needs of the child. Utah Code Ann. § 78A-6-509(1)(a). The court is not limited to considering only the factors listed in the statute. Id. Though a parent's deportation alone may be insufficient to find that termination of that parent's rights is in the child's best interests, in cases like this, where the child has developed no previous relationship with the parent, the fact of a parent's deportation is a sufficient basis to find that termination of the parent's rights is in the child's best interests. Based on the testimony at the hearing, the juvenile court found that requiring A.C.M. to cross international borders to visit a father that he has not seen since he was two months old would be severely disruptive to A.C.M.'s mental health. We agree that this disruption would not be in A.C.M.'s best interests. ¶ 31 The juvenile court made sufficient findings to support its determination that Mr. Nuosci does not meet the minimum thresholds for fitness and that termination of his parental rights is in A.C.M.'s best interests.