In re the Guardianship & Conservatorship of Fogle

837 P.2d 842, 17 Kan. App. 2d 357, 1992 Kan. App. LEXIS 546
CourtCourt of Appeals of Kansas
DecidedAugust 21, 1992
DocketNo. 67,299
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 837 P.2d 842 (In re the Guardianship & Conservatorship of Fogle) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Kansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In re the Guardianship & Conservatorship of Fogle, 837 P.2d 842, 17 Kan. App. 2d 357, 1992 Kan. App. LEXIS 546 (kanctapp 1992).

Opinion

Gernon, J.:

In this appeal, Arza B. Fogle challenges the district court’s decision to hear and grant a motion to modify a partial guardianship and conservatorship to one which granted full power. Fogle moved to set aside the order granting full power, which the court denied. Fogle appeals.

Fogle’s nephew, Frank D. Fogle, filed a petition for the appointment of a guardian and conservator for Fogle on April 30, 1990. The district court, pursuant to K.S.A. 59-3010, issued preliminary orders setting a hearing date, appointing an attorney for Fogle, and ordering Fogle to consult with his attorney. Fogle, Frank Fogle, and the guardian ad litem were each sent notice of the hearing.

A hearing was held on May 9, 1990. An order on this hearing was not issued until January 4, 1991. The court found that Fogle was a disabled person in certain respects and appointed a limited [358]*358guardian and limited co-conservators. According to the record, no letters of guardianship or conservatorship were issued.

On March 4, 1991, a motion was filed by the limited guardian, asking the court to modify the order of limited guardianship and conservatorship by granting full powers of guardianship and conservatorship.

The hearing on the March 4 motion was held on March 6, at which the court granted the motion. The order was filed on March 7. No order directing Fogle to appear at the March 6 hearing or requiring him to submit to a mental evaluation was issued by the court. Nor was any other order listed in K.S.A. 59-3010 issued for this hearing.

At the May 9, 1990, hearing, Frank testified and expressed concern about the health, personal hygiene, and food intake of Fogle. He also stated that much of the time Fogle was “capable,” and other times he was not. He stated that Fogle had begun receiving Meals on Wheels five days a week and that this had helped significantly. Fogle’s physician sent a letter which stated he had noted progressive deterioration in Fogle’s mental functions. Fogle was 89 years old at the time of the 1990 heáring.

At the March 6, 1991, hearing, the guardian ad litem for Fogle testified that Fogle was notified of the hearing by his office. When the guardian ad litem arrived to pick Fogle up for the hearing, Fogle informed the guardian ad litem that he was expecting Governor Finney to come to his house and, therefore, he would stay and wait for her. The guardian ad litem then went to the hearing without Fogle.

On July 9, 1991, Fogle filed a petition to set aside the order appointing a guardian and conservator. On July 10, 1991, the guardian and conservator petitioned the court for placement of Fogle in a treatment facility. The court then ordered an evaluation and, at a later hearing held on August 16, 1991, ordered that Fogle be placed in a nursing home. At this hearing, the court found that Fogle’s presence at the hearing would be injurious to his health. At the August 29, 1991, hearing, counsel for Fogle argued that the court did not have jurisdiction to hear the motion to modify held on March 16, 1991.

The district court denied the petition to set aside the guardianship and conservatorship. Fogle appeals.

[359]*359Fogle filed his petition more than 30 days after judgment; therefore, according to K.S.A. 59-2213, he must proceed under K.S.A. 60-260(b)(4) in order to vacate or modify the judgment. K.S.A. 60-260(b)(4) states: “On motion and upon such terms as are just, the court may relieve a party or said party’s legal representative from a final judgment, order, or proceeding for the following reasons: ... (4) the judgment is void.”

Here, Fogle contends the judgment is void because the trial court did not follow the procedures set out in K.S.A. 59-3010(a), specifically (2) and (6), which state:

“Upon the filing of the petition provided for in K.S.A. 59-3009 and amendments thereto:
(а) When the proposed ward or proposed conservatee is alleged to be a disabled person, the district court shall issue the following:
(2) An order that the proposed ward or proposed conservatee appear at the time and place of the hearing unless the court enters an order that the presence of the proposed ward or proposed conservatee is injurious to the welfare of the proposed ward or proposed conservatee. The court shall enter in the record of the proceedings the facts upon which the court has found that the presence of the proposed ward or proposed conservatee at the hearing would be injurious to such person’s welfare. Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this subsection, if the proposed ward or proposed conservatee requests in writing to the court or to such person’s attorney that such person be present at the hearing then such person’s presence cannot be waived.
(б) An order for mental evaluation. Such order may be served on the proposed ward or proposed conservatee at the same time or after notice is given. It shall be served in the manner provided for in K.S.A. 59-3012 and acts amendatory thereof. It shall order the proposed ward or proposed conservatee to submit for a mental evaluation and to undergo such evaluation at a general hospital or a psychiatric hospital, an institution within the department of social and rehabilitation services, mental health clinic, private psychiatrist or physician designated by the court in the order.”

The question then becomes: Are these procedures mandatory or directory, and, if mandatory, were they followed in this case?

We must recognize at this point the distinction between a void judgment and one which is erroneous. “A judgment is void only if the court that rendered it lacked jurisdiction of the subject matter or of the parties or if the court acted in a manner incon[360]*360sistent with due process.” Universal Modular Structures, Inc. v. Forrest, 11 Kan. App. 2d 298, 300, 720 P.2d 1121 (1986).

The determination of whether a statute is mandatory or directory was analyzed in Wilcox v. Billings, 200 Kan. 654, 657-58, 438 P.2d 108 (1968), which states:

“No absolute test exists by which it may be determined whether a statute is directory or mandatory. Each case must stand largely on its own facts, to be determined on an interpretation of the particular language used. Certain rules and aids to construction have been stated. The primary rule is to ascertain legislative intent as revealed by an examination of the whole act.

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Bluebook (online)
837 P.2d 842, 17 Kan. App. 2d 357, 1992 Kan. App. LEXIS 546, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-the-guardianship-conservatorship-of-fogle-kanctapp-1992.