Iowa Code 232.118 – Removal of guardian
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1. Upon application of an interested party or upon the court‘s own motion, the court having jurisdiction of the child may, after notice to the parties and a hearing, remove a court-appointed guardian and appoint a guardian in accordance with the provisions of section 232.117, subsection 3.
a. The moving party or a party opposed to the actions of the guardian has the burden to establish that the court-appointed guardian failed to act in the child‘s best interests by unreasonably or irresponsibly failing to discharge the guardian’s duties in finding a suitable adoptive home for the child.
b. The court shall give deference to the decision of the guardian.
Terms Used In Iowa Code 232.118
- Child: includes but shall not be limited to a stepchild, foster child, or legally adopted child and means a child actually or apparently under eighteen years of age, and a dependent person eighteen years of age or over who is unable to maintain the person's self and is likely to become a public charge. See Iowa Code 252A.2
- Child: means any person under the age of eighteen years. See Iowa Code 232.68
- Court: shall mean and include any court upon which jurisdiction has been conferred to determine the liability of persons for the support of dependents. See Iowa Code 252A.2
- Court: means the juvenile court established under section 602. See Iowa Code 232.2
- Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
- Guardian: means a person who is not the parent of a child, but who has been appointed by a court having jurisdiction over the child, to have a permanent self-sustaining relationship with the child and to make important decisions which have a permanent effect on the life and development of that child and to promote the general welfare of that child. See Iowa Code 232.2
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Party: means a petitioner, a respondent, or a person who intervenes in a proceeding instituted under this chapter. See Iowa Code 252A.2
2. A child fourteen years of age or older who has not been adopted but who is placed in a satisfactory foster home may, with the consent of the foster parents, join with the guardian appointed by the court in an application to the court to remove the existing guardian and appoint the foster parents as guardians of the child.
3. The authority of a guardian appointed by the court terminates when the child reaches the age of majority or is adopted.