In re Guardianship of Kowalski
Minnesota Court of Appeals
478 N.W.2d 790 (1991)
Sharon Kowalski, seriously injured and cognitively impaired in a car accident, lived with her partner Karen Thompson (plaintiff) but her family had been unaware of the relationship. After Kowalski's father was relieved of guardianship for health reasons, Thompson petitioned, supported by sixteen medical witnesses, while three lay witnesses with little direct contact with Kowalski and no medical training — including a family friend, Tomberlin, who had not even petitioned and was unwilling to care for Kowalski outside an institution — opposed her. The trial court denied Thompson's petition and instead appointed Tomberlin as guardian.
In a case to award guardianship of a seriously injured adult woman, is the trial court justified in rejecting the petition of the woman's preferred, willing, and capable domestic partner in favor of a family friend who rarely visited and did not intend to care for the woman outside an institution?