In the Interest of H.B., Minor Child
A.B., Father-Appellant
Attorney for Appellant Father
Joseph P. Goedken
Attorney for Appellee State
Mary A. Triick, Assistant Attorney General
Guardian ad Litem
Sam K. Erhardt
Court of Appeals
Court of Appeals Opinion
Opinion Number:
Date Published:
Summary
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Wapello County, William S. Owens, Associate Juvenile Judge. AFFIRMED. Considered by Tabor, P.J., and Greer and Ahlers, JJ. Opinion by Greer, J. (7 pages)
A father appeals the termination of his parental rights. He argues the State did not make reasonable efforts, the juvenile court should have established a guardianship in lieu of terminating his parental rights, and the closeness of the bond with his child overcomes the need for termination. OPINION HOLDS: The father did not preserve his reasonable-efforts challenge. Because termination of the father’s parental rights is in the child’s best interests, a guardianship in lieu of termination is not an option. And while the child is strongly bonded with the father, he has not shown this bond overcomes termination being in the child’s best interests.
