In re Paulo T.

Citations

• 347 Conn. 311

Syllabus

The respondent father appealed to the Appellate Court from the judgment of the trial court, which granted the motion for reinstatement of guardian- ship rights filed by the petitioner mother with respect to their minor son, P. In its decision on the petitioner's motion, the trial court stated that parents are entitled to a presumption that reinstatement of guardianship rights is in the best interests of the child. On appeal to the Appellate Court, the respondent claimed, inter alia, that the presumption to which the trial court referred in its decision does not apply in cases between two parents. The Appellate Court agreed with the respondent but never- theless affirmed the trial court's judgment because, after reviewing the record, the court discerned no indication in the record that the trial court had in fact applied the presumption. On the granting of certification, the respondent appealed to this court. Held: 1. This court concluded that it did not need to address the issue of whether the presumption that reinstatement of guardianship rights is in the best interests of the child applies in cases such as the present one, in which both parties are the parents of the minor child, insofar as both parties agreed with the Appellate Court's conclusion that the presumption does not apply in such cases. 2. The Appellate Court correctly concluded that, notwithstanding the trial court's statement in its decision that parents are entitled to a presump- tion that reinstatement of guardianship rights is in the best interests of the child, the trial court did not apply the presumption but, rather, applied the proper best interests balancing test: This court had ordered the trial court to issue an articulation to clarify whether it applied the presumption, accepted the trial court's unequivocal response that it did not apply the presumption, and, after reviewing the trial court's decision, concluded that the trial court had determined that reinstatement of guardianship was in