State in interest of A.R.
State in interest of A.R.
Opinion of the Court
PER CURIAM:
*2¶1 E.R. (Father) appeals a decision awarding permanent custody and guardianship of his children to their paternal grandmother. Father asks this court to reverse the grant of permanent custody and guardianship and remand with a direction to enter an order of temporary custody and guardianship in the paternal grandmother pending further proceedings. We affirm the juvenile court's decision.
¶2 Father does not challenge the juvenile court's determination of his unfitness as a parent due to his untreated mental illness. The sole issue raised on appeal is a claim that the juvenile court's award of permanent custody and guardianship of the children to their paternal grandmother was erroneous because In re B.T.B. ,
¶3 The case was before the juvenile court on the Guardian ad Litem's (GAL) petition to terminate Father's parental rights to allow the children to be adopted. In contrast, the State advocated for an award of permanent custody and guardianship to the paternal grandmother with whom the children had resided throughout the child welfare case. The paternal grandmother wanted to be the children's permanent guardian rather than adopt them. The State had withdrawn its earlier petition to terminate Father's parental rights and thereafter requested an award of permanent custody and guardianship to the paternal grandmother. Father joined in the State's recommendation. During the trial on the termination petition, Father's counsel stated, "I would submit that at the very least what this court could do [is] grant permanent custody and guardianship in the grandmother and close the case." Father's counsel also acknowledged that, under current Utah law, "if my client loses permanent custody and guardianship in this case, he cannot [petition to] get his children back." See Utah Code Ann. § 78A-6-1103(3)(b) (LexisNexis 2018). Father would, however, retain residual rights that would include rights to visitation. The court awarded permanent custody and guardianship of the children to their paternal grandmother.
¶4 Notwithstanding his position at the termination trial, Father asserts that he has preserved a challenge to the permanent custody and guardianship award by filing an appeal. This is insufficient to preserve the issue for consideration on appeal. An issue is preserved for appeal when it has been presented to the juvenile court in such a way that the court has the opportunity to rule on it. See In re D.B. ,
¶5 But even assuming that Father did preserve the issue, Father's argument is based upon a mistaken interpretation of B.T.B. Father relies on this court's statement in B.T.B. that the juvenile court should "consider whether other less-permanent arrangements ... might serve the child's needs just as well in the short term, while preserving the possibility for rehabilitation of the parent-child relationship in the longer term." In re B.T.B. ,
¶6 Accordingly, we affirm the award of permanent custody and guardianship of the children to their paternal grandmother.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.