In re D.M.H., 924 N.W.2d 789 (2019)

March 21, 2019 · North Dakota Supreme Court · No. 20180313

924 N.W.2d 789

INTEREST OF D.M.H., a child

State of North Dakota, Petitioner and Appellee
v.
D.M.H., child, J.D.H., father, J.H.T., guardian, L.H.T., guardian, and Lisa Larsen, Lay Guardian Ad Litem, Respondents
and
S.L.S., Respondent and Appellant

No. 20180313

Supreme Court of North Dakota.

Filed March 21, 2019

Nancy D. Yon, Assistant State's Attorney, Grand Forks, N.D., for petitioner and appellee; submitted on brief.

Rhiannon L. Gorham, Grand Forks, N.D., for respondent and appellant; submitted on brief.

Per Curiam.

[¶1] S.L.S., the mother of D.M.H., a minor child, appeals from the juvenile court's order appointing the child's paternal grandparents as legal guardians for D.M.H. The juvenile court did not establish a visitation schedule for S.L.S. Her parental rights have not been terminated. S.L.S. argues the juvenile court should have included a visitation schedule in its order rather than delegate visitation decisions to the child's guardians. The State agrees with S.L.S. and joins her request for a remand for the juvenile court to establish a visitation schedule.

[¶2] We summarily reverse under N.D.R.App.P. 35.1(b) and remand for further proceedings. Interest of G.L. , 2018 ND 176, ¶ 15, 915 N.W.2d 685 (holding a juvenile court may not delegate parental visitation to a child's guardian). We remand for a determination by the juvenile court whether visitation "is likely to endanger the child's physical or emotional health." Id. at ¶ 14 ; N.D.C.C. § 14-05-22(2). If the juvenile court finds that visitation between S.L.S. and D.M.H. is not a danger to the child, it must order an appropriate visitation schedule.

[¶3] Gerald W. VandeWalle, C.J.

Jerod E. Tufte

Daniel J. Crothers

Lisa Fair McEvers

Donovan J. Foughty, D.J.

[¶4] The Honorable Donovan J. Foughty, D.J., sitting in place of Jensen, J., disqualified.