In re Guardianship of Kowalski
| In re Guardianship of Kowalski | |
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| Court | Minnesota Court of Appeals |
| Full case name | In re Guardianship of Sharon Kowalski, Ward |
| Citation(s) | 478 N.W.2d 790 |
| Legislation cited | Minnesota Statutes §§ 525.551, 525.59 |
| Case history | |
| Prior action(s) | Order appointing Donald Kowalski guardian (April 24, 1984); Minnesota Court of Appeals affirms, 382 N.W.2d 861 (March 4, 1986); Karen Tomberlin named successor guardian (April 23, 1991) |
| Case opinions | |
| When medical evidence establishes that a mentally incapacitated ward has the capacity to express a preference as to the identity of the ward's guardian, the trial court should give this preference great weight in its guardianship decision. | |
| Court membership | |
| Judges sitting |
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| Case opinions | |
| Decision by | Davies |
In re Guardianship of Kowalski, 478 N.W.2d 790 (Minn. Ct. App. 1991), is a Minnesota Court of Appeals case that established a lesbian's partner as her legal guardian after Sharon Kowalski became incapacitated following an automobile accident. Because the case was contested by Kowalski's parents and family and initially resulted in the partner being excluded for several years from visiting Kowalski, the gay community celebrated the final resolution in favor of the partner as a victory for gay rights.
Sharon Kowalski, a high school teacher of physical education and health, lived with her partner, Karen Thompson (born 1947), in St. Cloud, Minnesota, for about four years. Though Kowalski's parents were not aware of the relationship at the time, the couple had exchanged rings and named one another as insurance policy beneficiaries. On November 13, 1983, Kowalski suffered severe brain injuries in an automobile accident involving a drunk driver. The injuries left Kowalski with permanent physical disabilities, requiring her to remain in a wheelchair, and the mental capacity of a four- to six-year-old child.
Both Thompson and Sharon Kowalski's father, Donald Kowalski, petitioned to be named Sharon Kowalski's legal guardian in March 1984. With the understanding that she would have visitation rights, Thompson agreed that Donald Kowalski would be named Sharon Kowalski's guardian. The court's guardianship order, issued in July 1985, gave Donald complete control over visitation. On July 25, 1985, Donald cut off Thompson's visitation rights and moved Sharon from a nursing home near Thompson's home to one a five-hour drive away. Thompson appealed the order, but the appellate court initially affirmed the order, citing testimony by Sharon's family and nursing home staff that Sharon seemed depressed and sad after her visits with Thompson and postulating that it would be in Kowalski's best interest to discontinue Thompson's visits. In a letter to the court, the Kowalski's family physician wrote: "Visits by Karen Thompson at this time would expose Sharon Kowalski to a high risk of sexual abuse." Donald Kowalski told an interviewer: "Karen Thompson kicked herself out of there by being so aggressive and by driving Sharon into a deep depression. She told Sharon she was being held prisoner, that she was in a dangerous environment. If you couldn't talk and you were lying there, wouldn't that put you in a depression?" He denied his daughter was a lesbian.
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