Utica Mutual Insurance v. Mitchell

I concur in the court’s opinion, but not without concern over the due process issues Judge Beasley raises in her separate opinion. As she notes, due process may well require that the ward receive personal notice of the guardian’s attempts to end their relationship. As Judge Smith correctly states, however, the statutory scheme as currently designed by the Legislature does not require the guardian to personally serve the ward with a copy of the petition for dismission. Judge Beasley’s partial dissent, in effect, is an effort to declare unconstitutional these statutory notice provisions by…