186 Ky. 483 | Ky. Ct. App. | 1920
Opinion of the Court by
Affirming.
This appeal presents the question of whether a guardian, duly appointed and qualified, may he removed on motion of a parent of the infant, who desires herself to qualify, without alleging and showing cause for the removal of the guardian. Elizabeth Herron is the mother of Thomas Lee Herron who is about thirteen years of
This court has frequently held in cases involving the guardianship of infants under the age of fourteen years, that a guardian who has been duly appointed will not be removed except for cause. Clay v. Clay, 28th R. 398, 89 S. W. 500; Estridge v. Estridge, 25 R. 1076, 76 S. W. 1101. The most recent utterance of this court on the subject will be found in the case of Simmons v. Simmons, 185 Ky. 449. There we held that a guardian who had been appointed by the county court and who had qualified and entered upon the discharge of the duties of the office would not be disturbed unless it plainly appeared that in making the appointment the county court abused the discietion vested in it by section 2021 of the statutes which allows the court to depart from the order of precedent laid down in the statutes when the interest of the infant so requires. We further said ‘ ‘ and when the court has done this and its actions have been approved by the circuit court on appeal, we would be very reluctant to interfere with the decision of the county court and the circuit court, as we would presume both of these courts acted for what they conceived to be the best interest of the infant. . . . When the court does select a stranger we must give to his decision great weight, especially after it is approved by the circuit court, and unless it plainly appeared from the evidence that the best interest of the infant would be promoted by removing the guardian appointed by the county court and approved by the circuit court, we would not interfere with the discretion allowed by the statutes in these courts.” This we regard as a sound and safe rule, and shall apply it in this case. From the evidence we are fully convinced that the county court made no mistake in appointing a stranger rather than the mother of Thomas Lee Herron as his guardian. The mother appears to have had little or no interest in her son until it became ap
Judgment affirmed.