Opinion ID: 1711902
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Guardianship and Custody

Text: [¶ 29.] Our guardianship laws were rewritten in 1993, creating the new South Dakota Guardianship and Conservatorship Act. This Act did not purport to change our earlier precedents on nonparental custody placements. On the contrary, the parental preference statute previously in our guardianship laws was repealed. See SDCL 30-27-23 (repealed 1993). This does not mean that there is no presumptive preference for fit parents. The natural parent-child relationship is a constitutionally protected fundamental right. See Santosky v. Kramer, 455 U.S. 745, 753, 102 S.Ct. 1388, 1394, 71 L.Ed.2d 599 (1982). However, as we have said in several cases, when the parents are shown to be unfit or there are extraordinary circumstances reflecting on parental fitness and serious detriment to the child, custody may be transferred to a nonparent, apart from dependency proceedings. [¶ 30.] SDCL 29A-5-203 provides: [A] petition for the appointment of a guardian, a conservator, or both, may be filed by ... an interested relative, by the individual or facility that is responsible for or has assumed responsibility for the minor's care or custody, by the individual or anyone the minor has nominated as guardian or conservator, or by any other interested person, including the department of human services or the department of social services. Obviously, the grandmother is an interested relative who has assumed responsibility for the [children's] care or custody, and thus she is qualified to petition for conservatorship and guardianship. [¶ 31.] Nothing has changed our position articulated in Langerman v. Langerman: Before a parent's right to custody over his or her own children will be disturbed in favor of a nonparent a clear showing against the parent of gross misconduct or unfitness, or other extraordinary circumstance affecting the welfare of the child is required, and an award cannot be made to [nonparents] simply because they may be better custodians. 336 N.W.2d 669, 670 (S.D.1983). See Cooper v. Merkel, 470 N.W.2d 253, 255 (S.D.1991). As we said in Crouse v. Crouse, 552 N.W.2d 413, 418 (S.D.1996), two statutory avenues are available for nonparents to obtain custody in South Dakota, one through the abuse and neglect laws, SDCL ch. 26-8A, and the other through the Guardianship and Conservatorship Act, SDCL ch. 29A-5. The grandmother availed herself of that Act, and we should uphold her right to do so. Here, the circuit court found the mother unfit, opening the door for an interested relative to take custody. In Langerman, this Court upheld a grant of custody to the grandparents after a finding that the father was unfit because of his alcohol abuse and his unstable living arrangements. None of these cases have ever been overruled. [¶ 32.] Surely, the majority misconstrues SDCL 29A-5-106 in holding that it requires this matter to be decided in juvenile court. All that statute provides is that with respect to the appointment of guardians and conservators and the administration of guardianships and conservatorships for children who have been adjudicated ... abused, neglected, the abuse and neglect statutes shall control if there is any inconsistency. (Emphasis added.) The children here were not adjudicated abused and neglected under the abuse and neglect statutes. In fact, just the opposite, the State never brought a case for abuse and neglect. Our guardianship laws specifically permit courts to consider the extent to which it is necessary to protect the minor from neglect, exploitation, or abuse.... SDCL 29A-5-208. Will all guardianship cases where there is evidence of neglect or abuse now be diverted to the Department of Social Services? [¶ 33.] It would be a different matter if the State had initiated its own petition under the abuse and neglect statutes. Then, obviously, that proceeding would take priority. On point is Guardianship of Z.Z., 494 N.W.2d 608, 610 (S.D.1992), a case the majority relies on to support its position. There, the child had already been adjudicated abused and neglected in juvenile court when the grandparents sought to bypass the juvenile court by bringing a guardianship action for custody. See also People ex rel. H.O., 2001 SD 114, 633 N.W.2d 603 (ongoing abuse and neglect action cannot be circumvented). That is not what happened in this case. Here, in a guardianship proceeding, not an abuse and neglect proceeding, the circuit court found that the mother was unfit and that the children suffered abuse and neglect. No reference in the court's decision was even made to the abuse and neglect statutes. [¶ 34.] Most states allow for the award of custody to a nonparent in guardianship proceedings. Legislatures in these states, like our own Legislature, recognize that it would place an overwhelming burden on social service agencies to take responsibility for all nonparental custody placements. When family members and others come to court seeking guardianship with allegations of parental unfitness, permanent or temporary, courts are empowered to remove custody from the unfit parent for such time as is necessary to provide for the child's needs. Unlike abuse and neglect proceedings in juvenile court, where terminations of parental rights often result, a guardianship can end any time the court is satisfied that the circumstances giving rise to the guardianship no longer exist. SDCL 29A-5-506. Hence, the panoply of rights attendant on dependency proceedings is not required. [¶ 35.] In the interest of space, only a sampling of cases will be cited to demonstrate that the majority of courts allow this type of proceeding, upon a showing of parental unfitness. See, e.g., In re Guardianship of D.A. McW., 460 So.2d 368 (Fla.1984); In re Guardianship of Williams, 254 Kan. 814, 869 P.2d 661 (1994); In re Guardianship of M.R.S., 960 P.2d 357 (Okl.1998); Fuss v. Niceforo, 244 A.D.2d 858, 665 N.Y.S.2d 781 (N.Y.A.D.1997); Matter of Guardianship of R.B., 619 N.E.2d 952 (Ind.Ct.App.1993); In re Guardianship of Jenna G., 63 Cal.App.4th 387, 74 Cal.Rptr.2d 47 (1998); In re Guardianship of Yushiko, 50 Mass.App.Ct. 157, 735 N.E.2d 1260 (2000). [¶ 36.] South Dakota's Guardianship and Conservatorship Act enables a court to consider the suitability of the proposed guardian or conservator, the minor's current or proposed living arrangements ... the availability of less restrictive alternatives, the extent to which it is necessary to protect the minor from neglect, exploitation, or abuse, and if applicable, the minor's need for habilitation or therapeutic treatment. SDCL 29A-5-208 (emphasis added). Guardians appointed for minors under this act shall be responsible for making decisions regarding the minor's support, care, health, education, and, if not inconsistent with an order of commitment or custody, to take custody of the minor and to determine the minor's residence. SDCL 29A-5-401. In deciding guardianship issues, a court must consider the wishes of the minor if the minor is of sufficient age to form an intelligent preference. SDCL 29A-5-202.