LJuCR 3.11 Guardianship in Juvenile Court
Local Juvenile Court Rule - Dependency Proceedings
(a) Petition for Guardianship for Dependent Child. A petition requesting the establishment of a guardianship may be filed in the Juvenile Court. The petition shall conform to the requirements of RCW 13.36.030.
(b) Scheduling and Notice. The scheduling and notice of hearings on the guardianship petition shall be in accordance with that required for termination proceedings in Title IV. of these rules.
(c) Procedure; Evidence; Burden of Proof. The court shall hold a hearing on the petition in accordance with RCW 13.36.040.
(d) Motions to Modify or Terminate a RCW 13.34 Dependency Guardianship. Any party to dependency guardianship established under RCW 13.34.232 except a parent whose rights have been terminated may move to modify or terminate a dependency guardianship, or substitute or remove a guardian. The motion shall be set on the Contested Dependency Motions Calendar as per LJuCR 3.12 and all parties including the dependency guardian shall be notified as provided in these rules. If the youth is age twelve (12) or older and not represented by counsel, notice shall additionally be given to the Department of Public Defense for appointment of counsel for the youth. The dependency guardianship may be modified or terminated if the Court finds by a preponderance of the evidence that there has been a substantial change in circumstances subsequent to the establishment of the dependency guardianship and that modification or termination of the dependency guardianship is in the best interest of the child. If a dependency guardianship order is terminated, the case shall return to the underlying dependency status and be set for review as required in LJuCR 3.9.
(e) Petition to Convert a RCW 13.34 Dependency Guardianship to RCW 13.36 Guardianship. A dependency guardian or the Department or Supervising agency may request that juvenile court convert a dependency guardianship established under RCW 13.34.232 to a guardianship under RCW 13.36 by filing a petition in conformity with RCW 13.36.030. The petitioner shall give reasonable notice of the petition to all parties in the dependency.
(1) Upon filing a petition to convert to a ch. 13.36 RCW guardianship, the clerk’s office shall issue a case schedule setting preliminary, pretrial and fact finding hearings as outlined in Title IV of these rules.
(2) If the dependency guardian, youth age twelve (12) or older, and the Department or Supervising agency agree that the dependency guardianship should be converted to a guardianship under RCW 13.36, the petitioner may present an agreed order to that effect, and the court shall strike all remaining hearings listed in the case schedule, and shall dismiss the underlying dependency.
(f) Motions to Modify a RCW 13.36 Guardianship. A guardian, youth age twelve (12) or older, or parent of the child may petition the court to modify the visitation provisions of a guardianship order by filing with the court a motion for modification and an affidavit setting forth facts supporting the modification. The motion shall be heard as a contested motion pursuant to LJuCR 3.12, and if the court finds the motion was brought in bad faith, it may assess attorneys’ fees and costs against the moving party in accordance with RCW 13.36.060.
[Adopted effective September 1, 1983; January 2, 1994; July 1, 1994; August 20, 1998; September 1, 2005; September 1, 2009; formerly LJuCR 3.14 renumbered and amended effective September 2, 2013; September 1, 2016.]
(b) Scheduling and Notice. The scheduling and notice of hearings on the guardianship petition shall be in accordance with that required for termination proceedings in Title IV. of these rules.
(c) Procedure; Evidence; Burden of Proof. The court shall hold a hearing on the petition in accordance with RCW 13.36.040.
(d) Motions to Modify or Terminate a RCW 13.34 Dependency Guardianship. Any party to dependency guardianship established under RCW 13.34.232 except a parent whose rights have been terminated may move to modify or terminate a dependency guardianship, or substitute or remove a guardian. The motion shall be set on the Contested Dependency Motions Calendar as per LJuCR 3.12 and all parties including the dependency guardian shall be notified as provided in these rules. If the youth is age twelve (12) or older and not represented by counsel, notice shall additionally be given to the Department of Public Defense for appointment of counsel for the youth. The dependency guardianship may be modified or terminated if the Court finds by a preponderance of the evidence that there has been a substantial change in circumstances subsequent to the establishment of the dependency guardianship and that modification or termination of the dependency guardianship is in the best interest of the child. If a dependency guardianship order is terminated, the case shall return to the underlying dependency status and be set for review as required in LJuCR 3.9.
(e) Petition to Convert a RCW 13.34 Dependency Guardianship to RCW 13.36 Guardianship. A dependency guardian or the Department or Supervising agency may request that juvenile court convert a dependency guardianship established under RCW 13.34.232 to a guardianship under RCW 13.36 by filing a petition in conformity with RCW 13.36.030. The petitioner shall give reasonable notice of the petition to all parties in the dependency.
(1) Upon filing a petition to convert to a ch. 13.36 RCW guardianship, the clerk’s office shall issue a case schedule setting preliminary, pretrial and fact finding hearings as outlined in Title IV of these rules.
(2) If the dependency guardian, youth age twelve (12) or older, and the Department or Supervising agency agree that the dependency guardianship should be converted to a guardianship under RCW 13.36, the petitioner may present an agreed order to that effect, and the court shall strike all remaining hearings listed in the case schedule, and shall dismiss the underlying dependency.
(f) Motions to Modify a RCW 13.36 Guardianship. A guardian, youth age twelve (12) or older, or parent of the child may petition the court to modify the visitation provisions of a guardianship order by filing with the court a motion for modification and an affidavit setting forth facts supporting the modification. The motion shall be heard as a contested motion pursuant to LJuCR 3.12, and if the court finds the motion was brought in bad faith, it may assess attorneys’ fees and costs against the moving party in accordance with RCW 13.36.060.
[Adopted effective September 1, 1983; January 2, 1994; July 1, 1994; August 20, 1998; September 1, 2005; September 1, 2009; formerly LJuCR 3.14 renumbered and amended effective September 2, 2013; September 1, 2016.]