In re Zakai F.

Summary

The court held that a parent who seeks reinstatement of guardianship after demonstrating that the conditions prompting removal have been satisfactorily resolved is entitled to a rebuttable constitutional presumption that reinstatement is in the child's best interests. The nonparent opposing reinstatement must rebut that presumption by clear and convincing evidence, rather than by a preponderance of the evidence. Because the trial court may not have applied the presumption and used the wrong evidentiary standard, the judgment was reversed and the case was remanded.