|
A.R.S. § 8-874
|
Arizona Revised Statutes Annotated Currentness
Title 8. Children
Chapter 10. Dependent Children
Article 5. Permanent Guardianship
§
8-874. Appointment of successor permanent guardian
A. If a permanent guardian appointed pursuant to § 8-872 is unable or
unwilling to continue to serve as permanent guardian, the permanent
guardian, the division or an interested party may file a motion for
appointment of a successor permanent guardian. The motion
shall be verified by the person filing the motion and shall include the
following:
1. The name, sex, address and date
and place of birth of each child who is the subject of the motion.
3.
The reason why the permanent guardian is no longer able or willing to serve as permanent guardian of the child.
B.
If the motion identifies a proposed successor permanent guardian, the
motion shall be accompanied by an affidavit by the proposed successor
permanent guardian that states:
2. The proposed successor guardian's
agreement to assume the duties and responsibilities of permanent guardian, including compliance with all court
orders.
1. Set a date for an initial guardianship
review hearing within thirty days after the motion is filed.
2.
Appoint an attorney for the child
and appoint an attorney for the proposed successor guardian, if
necessary. The court is not required to appoint an attorney for the
parent of the child.
(a) Placing the child in the temporary
custody of an individual or agency or the
division and directing the division to provide necessary services as
may be necessary for the safety and well-being of the child.
(b)
Directing the division to complete
a criminal records check and home study to determine the suitability of
the proposed successor permanent guardian to serve as the permanent
guardian of the child.
(c) Directing the division to conduct
an investigation to determine whether dependency proceedings should be initiated.
D.
The court shall order the person filing the motion to give notice of
the hearing and to provide a copy of the motion together with the
court's temporary orders to the permanent guardian, the division, the
child's attorney, the child's parents and any other
interested person as ordered by the court. The person filing
the motion shall provide notice by first class mail unless the court
orders that notice be given by other means. If the child is
subject to the
Indian child welfare act of 1978, the person filing the motion shall
provide
notice, pursuant to 25 United
States Code § 1912, to the Indian parent, the Indian custodian and the
child's tribe. If the identity or location of the Indian child's parent
cannot be determined, the person filing the motion shall provide notice
to the United States secretary of the interior
pursuant to 25 United States Code § 1912.
E.
If the child is at least twelve years of age, the court shall consider
the child's objection to the proposed successor permanent guardian.
F.
At the hearing, if the court finds that the proposed successor
permanent guardian is suitable to assume the responsibilities of
permanent guardian and that appointment would be in the child's best
interests, the court shall grant the motion, terminate the
appointment of the current permanent guardian and enter any other
orders as may be necessary for the safety and well-being of the child,
including:
1. Appointing the proposed successor
permanent guardian as a provisional permanent
guardian of the child for a period not to exceed nine months and
setting a hearing to determine whether the appointment should be made
permanent.
2.
Appointing the proposed successor
permanent guardian as permanent guardian of the child if the court
finds by clear and convincing evidence that the proposed successor
permanent guardian is suitable to serve as the child's permanent
guardian and that the appointment would be in the child's
best interests.
3.
Directing the division to monitor
the placement during the period of provisional appointment and to
provide necessary services to support the provisional placement,
including assisting the provisional permanent guardian to make an
application for guardianship subsidy and other available benefits.
G.
If the court enters an order appointing a successor permanent guardian,
the court shall set a review hearing within one year after the
appointment and may
order the division or an agency to
conduct an investigation and submit a written report before the hearing.
H. A successor permanent guardian is vested with all of the rights and
responsibilities prescribed in § 14-5209 relating to the powers and
duties of a guardian of a minor, other than those rights and
responsibilities of a birth or adoptive parent prescribed in
the order appointing the successor permanent guardian.
I.
The order appointing the successor permanent guardian may provide for
contact between the child and the natural or adoptive parents, siblings
and other relatives or kin if contact is in the child's best interests.
The court may order the parent to contribute
to the support of the child and to pay any costs for visitation to the
extent it finds the parent able to contribute.
J.
If the motion to appoint a successor permanent guardian does not comply
with this section, or if the court does not appoint a provisional or
permanent
successor
permanent guardian, the
court may order the division or the child's attorney to file a
dependency petition regarding the child and may enter temporary orders
that are necessary for the safety and well-being of the child. In these
cases, the court may direct the division not to provide
reunification services to the child's parents unless the court finds by
clear and convincing evidence that it would be in the child's best
interests.
CREDIT(S)
A. R. S. § 8-874, AZ ST § 8-874
the
Forty-Ninth Legislature
(2010).
.