In re Amberley D.
Supreme Judicial Court of Maine
775 A.2d 1158 (2001)
After Joann R. (defendant) moved with her children to New Hampshire following her divorce, Amberley stopped attending school and was exposed to harmful conduct at home, prompting her to run away to Maine to live with her former stepfather's parents, Diana and Richard B. (plaintiffs), who petitioned for temporary co-guardianship; the trial court, without notifying Joann first, found Amberley in an intolerable situation and granted a six-month temporary guardianship, later notifying Joann, denying her motion to dismiss, and after a full hearing in which she participated, affirming the guardianship. Joann appealed, arguing New Hampshire had jurisdiction under child-custody jurisdiction statutes since Amberley had lived there before running away.
Whether a trial court may grant temporary guardianship of a child to a non-parent without prior notice to the parent when the deprivation of parental rights is brief and the proceeding is commenced in the child's home state.