Middleton v. Chaney

This appeal arises from guardianship and child custody proceedings that were consolidated for trial. The trial court denied father’s petition for custody of his biological child and ordered that the child continue indefinitely under the guardianship of mother’s uncle and his wife (respondents).1 Father appeals. We reverse and remand.

Child was born on July 2, 1990. Father and mother were not married, but father had accompanied mother to prenatal medical appointments, attended the birth and lived with mother and child for 10 months. At that point, father began a six-and-a-half year period of…