S.M.

*1291 Opinion

At a permanent plan hearing in a juvenile dependency matter (Welf. & Inst. Code, § 366.26), 1 the court appointed legal guardians for the minor, S.B., and, without objection from the mother, ordered that visitation between the two be determined by the legal guardians. We address two issues: (1) whether, by not objecting to the visitation order, the mother forfeited her right to challenge that order on appeal; and (2) whether the court erred in having the legal guardians determine the question of visitation.

We hold that the mother’s failure to challenge the visitation order in juvenile court did not preclude the Court of Appeal from considering the issue on appeal, and that the juvenile court can under current law delegate to a legal guardian the decision whether to allow parental visitation.

I

In November 1999, the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services (Department) took custody of S.B., then 11 years old, and her half brother, J.M., then 7 years old. The Department filed a dependency petition under section 300 alleging that the children came within the jurisdiction of the juvenile court. The petition alleged, among other things, that the…