Don H. v. Patricia F.

Opinion

SILLS, P. J.

This case requires us to explore a troublesome area in California’s guardianship law. Under the applicable statute, after a guardianship is established, a court may make an order ending the guardianship (which usually means sending the child back to live with a natural parent) if either one of two conditions exist:(1) “it is no longer necessary that the ward have a guardian” or(2) “it is in the ward’s best interest to terminate the guardianship.” (Prob. Code, § 1601.)1

The troublesome part of the law lies in the disjunctive “or.” By using that little word, the Legislature…