Guardian ad Litem & Department of Children and Families v. J.G. & L.L.
The Fifth DCA affirmed dependency findings and the finding that Mother abandoned the children, but reversed the trial court's denial of termination of parental rights as to Mother's egregious conduct under section 39.806(1)(f) and as to Father's abandonment and harm from incarceration under sections 39.01(1) and 39.806(1)(d)3. The court held those denials were unsupported by competent substantial evidence and clearly erroneous given uncontradicted testimony, and remanded for the mandatory manifest-best-interest and least-restrictive-means determinations under section 39.810.
Key facts
- Guardian ad Litem and Department of Children and Family Services sought termination of parental rights for Mother and Father of two young children based on abandonment, egregious conduct, and harm from incarceration.
- The trial court found the children dependent and that Mother abandoned them by handing them to unidentifiable strangers, but denied termination of parental rights for both parents.
- +2 more key facts with a free trial
Why it matters
Although reversals of TPR denials are typically fact-bound, this opinion gives dependency and family practitioners a useful statement that incarceration cannot be used as an excuse defeating the 'while being able'… — full analysis with a trial
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