Conservatorship of Ryan M. CA4/2

FACTS

Ryan is 28 years old. He has cerebral palsy and epilepsy, as well as developmental

impairments that affect his speech and cognition. The consensus of the various medical

and psychological professionals who have assessed him over the years is that he has the

1Ryan is represented on appeal by the same attorneys whom Sean hired to represent him during trial—Mark Flory and Jack Osborn from the law firm of Brown White & Osborn LLP. 2 mental capacity of a five to six year old. He requires assistance with daily tasks like

dressing and bathing and with administering the medications he takes to manage his

condition.

Ryan also has two sides of family who have long been fighting over who should

be able to see him and who has his best interests at heart. On one side is his adoptive

family. When Ryan was a young child, he was removed from his parents’ custody and

placed in the care of Michelle M., who runs a foster care facility for medically fragile

children out of her home and who later adopted Ryan. On the other side is his biological

mother’s family, which includes his twin brother, Ronald, his grandmother, and his aunt,

Monica. According to these family members, as Ryan…