'The Guardianship of Weller'

IN RE GUARDIANSHIP OF WELLER
2011 Ohio 5816
In the Matter of: Guardianship of Nicholas L. Weller.
Appellate No. 24337.
Court of Appeals of Ohio, Second District, Montgomery County.

Rendered on November 10, 2011.

NEIL F. FREUND, Atty. Reg. #0012183, and KELLY M. SCHROEDER, Atty. Reg. #0080637, Freund, Freeze & Arnold, Fifth Third Center, 1 South Main Street, Suite 1800, Dayton, Ohio 45402-2017 and CAROLYN MUELLER, Atty. Reg. #0065533, Hall & Mueller, LPA, 3040 Presidential Drive, Suite 222, Fairborn, Ohio 45324, Attorneys for Appellant.
DAVID M. RICKERT, Atty. Reg. #0010483, 110 North Main Street, Suite 1000, Dayton, Ohio 45402 and DAN R. WARNCKE, Atty. Reg. #0061799, and JULIA B. MEISTER, 425 Walnut Street, Suite 1800, Cincinnati, Ohio 45202, Attorneys for Appellee.

OPINION
FAIN, J.
{¶ 1} Appellant Nicholas Weller appeals from a decision of the Montgomery County Common Pleas Court, Probate Division, establishing a guardianship over his estate. Weller contends that the evidence does not support the trial court's finding that he was incompetent to manage his estate.
{¶ 2} We conclude that this appeal has been rendered moot by the May 31, 2011 entry finding Weller restored to competency and terminating the guardianship. Accordingly, this appeal is dismissed as moot.
{¶ 3} On March 31, 2010, Nicholas Weller suffered a stroke at his residence in Montgomery County. He was taken to Kettering Medical Center for treatment. He was released from the hospital after a ten-day stay. He was checked into an assisted living facility by Janet Ward, a friend of Weller and Weller's deceased wife. Weller refused to remain in the assisted living facility and returned home, where Ward arranged for in-home care. It was determined that Weller suffered from aphasia; or the inability to express himself or to understand the words of people speaking to him.
{¶ 4} Thereafter, Ward filed an application for appointment as guardian over Weller's person and estate. Weller hired his own attorneys and proceeded to contest the need for the guardianship. Following protracted litigation and a hearing, the Probate Court determined that Weller was competent as to his person, but found him incompetent as to his estate. The Probate Court appointed attorney Christopher Cowan as guardian of the estate.
{¶ 5} On November 12, 2010, Weller appealed from the order subjecting him to a guardianship of his estate. Just prior to the August 2, 2011 oral arguments in this appeal, this court became aware that the Probate Court had issued an order Terminating Guardianship on May 31, 2011. Following argument, we permitted the parties to file supplemental briefs on the question of whether the entry terminating the guardianship rendered this appeal moot. Supplemental briefs on the mootness issue have been filed by Weller and the applicant, Janet Ward.
{¶ 6} Before we address Weller's assignments of error, we must first consider the issue of whether the probate court's order terminating the guardianship rendered this appeal moot.

Source:
In RE Guardianship of Weller