Chapter 21 - THE GUARDIANSHIP HEARINGThere was no dramatic final witness pulling out a secret envelope.
The hearing lasted two days.
Documents.
Doctors.
Evaluator.
School representative.
George.
Me.
Linda.
My treatment history was discussed publicly enough to make me want to disappear.
I testified anyway.
Linda’s attorney asked:
“Have you ever been dependent on opioid medication?”
“Yes.”
“Did that impair your parenting?”
“During my hospitalization and treatment period, I was not independently parenting. That is why I consented to temporary guardianship.”
“Could you relapse?”
“Yes.”
Linda looked up.
My attorney did too.
I continued:
“Anyone with a substance-use history can relapse. That possibility is why I maintain treatment and safeguards. Possibility is not current incapacity.”
That answer felt terrifying.
It was also true.
The judge denied Linda’s guardianship petition.
Not because she was evil.
Because evidence did not establish I was unable or unfit to parent Evan.
The court also formally confirmed the old temporary guardianship had terminated two years earlier.
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No ambiguity.
No remaining authority.
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