A-18-0864, In re Interest of Kristina S., a child under 18 years of age. State of Nebraska v. Benjamin S. (Appellant)
County Court for Adams County, County Judge Michael Burns
Attorney for Appellant: Derek Allen Terwey
Attorneys for Appellee (State): Cassie Lin Baldwin & Donna Fegler Daiss (Adams County Attorney’s Office)
Juvenile Action: Guardianship, visitation
Action taken by the Trial Court: Kristina’s guardian ad litem filed a petition, joined by the State, for appointment of a guardian of a minor child, seeking to have Kristina’s current foster parents appointed as her guardians. Her father, Benjamin, filed a motion for supervised visits, objection to the court’s visitation order limiting contact between Benjamin and Kristina to only therapeutic contact under the direct supervision of a therapist. Following an evidentiary hearing, the court granted the guardianship petition, but it denied the motion for supervised visitation.
Assignments of Error on Appeal: Did the trial court err in finding clear and convincing evidence that a guardianship was in Kristina’s best interests? Did the trial court err in denying Benjamin’s motion for supervised visitation and ordering that any contact between him and Kristina be in a therapeutic setting?