The Guardianship of J.H., D.H., and R.H., W.B. and S.B. v. J.A. and H.A. (mem. dec.) ( 2019 )

MEMORANDUM DECISION
Pursuant to Ind. Appellate Rule 65(D), FILED
this Memorandum Decision shall not be Jul 30 2019, 9:13 am
regarded as precedent or cited before any
CLERK
court except for the purpose of establishing Indiana Supreme Court
Court of Appeals
the defense of res judicata, collateral and Tax Court
estoppel, or the law of the case.
ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANTS ATTORNEY FOR APPELLEES
R. Lee Money Andrew J. Noone
Greenwood, Indiana Noone Law, LLC
Beech Grove, Indiana
IN THE
COURT OF APPEALS OF INDIANA
The Guardianship of J.H., D.H., July 30, 2019
and R.H. Court of Appeals Case No.
19A-GU-406
W.B. and S.B.,
Appeal from the Marion Superior
Appellants-Respondents/Counter- Court
Petitioners,
The Honorable Kelly M. Scanlan,
v. Judge Pro Tempore
Trial Court Cause Nos.
J.A. and H.A., 49D08-1803-GU-11272
Appellees-Petitioners/Counter- 49D08-1804-GU-13111
Respondents 49D08-1804-GU-13113
Baker, Judge.
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[1] W.B. and S.B. (collectively, Paternal Grandparents) appeal the trial court’s
order awarding guardianship of J.H., D.H., and R.H. (collectively, the
Children) to J.A. and H.A. (collectively, Maternal Grandparents). Paternal
Grandparents argue that the trial court’s order violated the constitutional rights
of the Children’s father (Father). Finding no violation, we affirm.
Facts
[2] J.H. is thirteen years old; D.H. is ten years old; and R.H. is eight years old. For
approximately the first three years of J.H.’s life, the family lived with Maternal
Grandparents. Then, they lived with Paternal Grandparents for about six
years. At some point, the parents separated, and in May 2016, they divorced.
Mother was given sole legal and physical custody of the Children and Father,
who struggles with substance abuse issues, was given supervised parenting time.
For the three years leading up to March 1, 2018, Mother and the Children lived
with Maternal Grandparents. On March 1, 2018, Mother died.
[3] On March 21, 2018, Maternal Grandparents filed a petition for guardianship of
the Children. Paternal Grandparents filed a counter-petition for guardianship
on March 23, 2018. Father is homeless, struggling with substance abuse issues,
and has a pending criminal charge; he concedes that he is unable to care for the
Children. While he has no safety concerns about the Children in the care of
Maternal Grandparents, Father wants Paternal Grandparents to be appointed
as their guardians.
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[4] The trial court held an evidentiary hearing on the guardianship petitions on
December 20, 2018. On January 23, 2019, the trial court granted the Maternal
Grandparents’ petition and denied the Paternal Grandparents’ petition. In
pertinent part, it found as follows:
. . . The Court had the opportunity to observe the witnesses’
demeanors and judge their credibility. . . .
***
3. Both Maternal Grandparents and Paternal Grandparents
have stable, long-term marriages and loving relationships
with the Children.
***
9. D.H. has asthma. Both Paternal Grandmother and
Paternal Grandfather smoke cigarettes in the home and in
the car when the Children are present. The Court finds
this behavior, which Paternal Grandparents have not
taken steps to change, quite concerning.
***
16. . . . Maternal Grandparents are more attuned to and
proactive regarding the Children’s educational needs than
are Paternal Grandparents.
17. Maternal Grandparents provide structure and stability for
the Children in their home.
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18. The Children love vacationing with Paternal
Grandparents.
***
20. The [guardian ad litem] . . . recommended that Maternal
Grandparents be appointed guardians, as in the best
interests of the Children, who have dealt with a significant
amount of upheaval in their short lives.
21. Factors supporting the GAL’s recommendation include
that the Children have transitioned seamlessly to their
newly built home and that the Children appear to be
thriving and are doing well in school.
***
25. Paternal Grandparents have played a significant role in the
Children’s lives and have continued to have meaningful
contact with them.
***
29. Pursuant to Indiana Code § 29-3-5-5(b), the Court, acting
in the best interests of a minor, may pass over a person
having priority and appoint a person having a lower
priority of consideration for appointment as guardian.
30. This Court has given due regard to Father’s wishes and to
the best interests of the Children, pursuant to Indiana
Code § 29-3-5-4.
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31. The key consideration for this Court when appointing a
guardian over a minor is the best interest of the minor.
32. It is in the best interest of the Children to remain in
Maternal Grandparents’ home, in their current school, and
to benefit from the structure and stability provided by the
Maternal Grandparents, while maintaining frequent
contact with Paternal Grandparents.
Appealed Order p. 1-3 (internal citation omitted). The trial court ordered both
sets of grandparents to work together to arrange regular visits between the
Children and Paternal Grandparents and ordered that Father’s parenting time
would continue to be supervised, either at an agency or by Paternal
Grandparents. Paternal Grandparents now appeal.
Discussion and Decision
[5] The sole argument raised by Paternal Grandparents on appeal is that, by
overriding Father’s wishes, the trial court violated his constitutional rights as a
parent.1
[6] Initially, we note that “[c]onstitutional rights are personal to an
individual . . . .” Richardson v. Richardson, 34 N.E.3d 696, 702 n.3 (Ind. Ct.
App. 2015). As such, an alleged violation of a third party’s constitutional rights
1
Paternal Grandparents also argue that there is insufficient evidence supporting the trial court’s purported
conclusion that Maternal Grandparents were the Children’s de facto custodians. But the trial court reached
the opposite conclusion, finding that the Maternal Grandparents were not the de facto custodians. Appealed
Order p. 3.
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may not be claimed by someone else. Kirkland v. State, 232 N.E.2d 365, 366,
249 Ind. 305, 308 (Ind. 1968). Here, therefore, Paternal Grandparents do not
have standing to raise this claim on Father’s behalf.
[7] That said, we will briefly address their argument. In essence, Paternal
Grandparents insist that, without exception, trial courts must defer to the
wishes of biological parents regarding who will be their children’s guardians.
[8] It is certainly true that parents “have a fundamental constitutional right to
direct their children’s upbringing without undue governmental interference, and
that a child’s best interests do not necessarily override that parental right.” In re
Visitation of M.L.B., 983 N.E.2d 583, 586 (Ind. 2013) (emphasis added). When
our Supreme Court declared that a child’s best interests “do not necessarily”
override this right of their parents, it necessarily implied that sometimes, the
parents’ rights will, indeed, be overridden. In other words, this parental right is
not unlimited—nor should it be. Were it unlimited, the trial court would be
obliged to bend to a parent who wanted his children to be placed under the care
of a stranger, or a drug dealer, or a person with untreated mental health issues.
[9] Thankfully, in this case, we have none of those extremes. Instead, we have two
sets of loving grandparents who genuinely care for the Children and want them
to have a safe and stable home; they simply disagree on which home that
should be. The trial court relied on the testimony of the guardian ad litem that,
given the significant upheaval the Children have had in their short lives, the
most important thing for them right now is stability, which means continuing to
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live with Maternal Grandparents, as they have for several years, and remaining
at the same schools. It also means, of course, that the Children will continue to
spend regular and substantial time with Paternal Grandparents, who will play
vital roles in the Children’s lives as they process the death of their Mother and
struggles of their Father.
[10] The trial court explicitly took Father’s wishes into consideration. 2 It merely
found that, in this case, the best interests of the Children override his right to
direct their upbringing. Given this record, as well as the trial court’s right to
weigh evidence and assess witness credibility, we find that the trial court’s order
was not erroneous.
[11] The judgment of the trial court is affirmed.
Kirsch, J., and Crone, J., concur.
2
While Paternal Grandparents argue that Troxel v. Granville, 530 U.S. 57, 67 (2000), requires us to reach a
different result, we note that the statute at issue in that case contained no requirement that the trial court even
consider the parent’s wishes. Here, the trial court was required to, and did, take Father’s wishes into
consideration. Ind. Code § 29-3-5-4(2)(A).
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