Saldarriaga V. Saldarriaga

This case asks whether the probate code's procedural requirements for the appointment of a guardian can be circumvented by labeling a guardian a "next friend." We hold that they cannot. In this divorce case, the district court appointed a "next friend" for wife, Debra Saldarriaga, on the motion of Debra's attorney because of the attorney's belief that Debra was not competent to make her own decisions with respect to the divorce suit. The next friend entered into a Rule 11 agreement with Debra's husband, Alejandro Saldarriaga, settling the Saldarriagas' financial and parent-child relationships. A second district court approved the Rule 11 agreement over Debra's objections and proceeded to enter a final divorce decree. In that district court, Debra challenged the appointment of the next friend, the approval of the Rule 11 agreement entered into by the next friend, and the entry of the decree, asserting that her due process rights were violated by the improper appointment of the next friend. She also challenged the district court's denial of her motion to abate the divorce proceedings while a guardianship proceeding was pending in the probate court. She now asserts those same complaints on appeal. We will reverse the orders of the district courts and remand for proceedings consistent with this opinion.