NEW JERSEY GUARDIANSHIP

Appointment of kinship legal guardians for the defendant mother’s daughter affirmed. The mother sought to have the daughter’s maternal grandparents appointed as kinship legal guardians, but the trial court instead appointed the parents of the man whom the mother initially had identified as the daughter’s father. Although it was later revealed the man was not the daughter’s father, she had formed a "strong emotional bond" with his parents.  The Kinship Legal Guardian Act does not indicate a preference for placement with relatives, but it expressly provides for the appointment of a "caregiver" as the kinship legal guardian. The man’s parents met the statutory definition of "caregiver" and there was no basis to disturb the trial court’s conclusion.   New Jersey DYFS v. D.K., New Jersey App. Div., September 25, 2006