Butte County (Oroville)
OROVILLE — In 2006, Kimberly Merrifield was in a unique position: fighting to uphold a guardianship in an appellate court after a major change in the language determining a permanent home for wayward children.
The phrase “no longer necessary” was the bar needing to be met to end a guardianship and restore parentage. But in the early 2000s, the wording changed to a descriptor now ubiquitous in cases involving minors: “bes... (continued)