People in Interest of Diaz.
2024 COA 101. No. 23CA1096. Colorado Uniform Guardianship and Protective Proceedings Act—Guardianship of Incapacitated Person—Court Visitor’s Report—Colorado Uniform Adult Guardianship and Protective Proceedings Jurisdiction Act—Transfer of Guardianship or Conservatorship to Another State.
September 5, 2024
Diaz is 70 years old. He emigrated from Mexico to the United States when he was a teenager and later became a lawful permanent resident. Diaz developed alcoholism and ultimately became homeless, and he was subsequently incarcerated for threatening a person with a knife at a homeless shelter. A mental health certification was initiated against Diaz, and the court appointed Labode as Diaz’s guardian ad litem. Labode petitioned the court to (1) appoint Diaz’s brother-in-law by marriage, Guzman Santoyo, as Diaz’s guardian; and (2) authorize Guzman Santoyo to transport Diaz from the Denver Detention Center to Mexico. The probate court appointed a court visitor, Wallman, to investigate the allegations in the petition and to file a report. Wallman interviewed Diaz, Guzman Santoyo, and Labode. Guzman Santoyo told Wallman that he wanted to take Diaz from jail and return him home to Mexico, and Labode stated that the purpose of the guardianship was to have Diaz returned home to be cared for by his sisters in Mexico. Diaz stated that he didn’t like it in Mexico. Wallman filed a report, and the court subsequently appointed Diaz an attorney and set a hearing on the guardianship petition. Before the hearing, Diaz’s counsel filed an objection to the petition contesting the request to give Santoyo authority to move Diaz to Mexico against his wishes. The probate court found that Wallman’s court visitor’s report supported granting the petition, so it granted the petition, appointing Santoyo as Diaz’s guardian and authorizing the requested travel. About two months later, Santoyo filed a notice of change of address for Diaz indicating that he now resides with his sisters in Guanajuato, Mexico.
On appeal, Diaz argued that the probate court misinterpreted the Colorado Uniform Guardianship and Protective Proceedings Act (CUGPPA) and the Colorado Uniform Adult Guardianship and Protective Proceedings Jurisdiction Act (CUAGPPJA) as permitting it to authorize Santoyo to move his dwelling place to Mexico against his stated wishes; and if the court possessed such authority, it was also required to transfer the guardianship proceeding. The court of appeals concluded that the CUGPPA and the CUAGPPJA authorize a probate court to transfer guardianship proceedings to a foreign jurisdiction if the court receives a visitor’s report that complies with CRS § 15-14-305 and with the CRS § 15-14.5-301 procedures. Accordingly, the probate court had authority to permit Guzman Santoyo to move Diaz to Mexico. However, Wallman’s visitor’s report did not state that he visited Diaz’s sisters’ home; the report’s entire section regarding the suitability of their home was left blank; and the report does not explain why Wallman did not visit the sisters’ residence or alternative methods he pursued to determine suitability. Further, the court did not inquire about the suitability of the proposed dwelling or note that this information was missing. Therefore, the probate court erred by relying on Wallman’s court visitor’s report.
The order was reversed and the case was remanded for the probate court to obtain a statutorily compliant visitor’s report and to conduct a new hearing under CRS § 15-14-305. If, after receiving a compliant visitor’s report and conducting an investigatory hearing, the court determines that authorizing Diaz’s guardian to move his dwelling place out of the country is in his best interests, the court has discretion to condition the move on the transfer of the guardianship proceeding to the foreign jurisdiction.
The full opinion is available at https://www.coloradojudicial.gov/system/files/opinions-2024-09/23CA1096-PD.pdf.