Minnesota: Appeals Court Holds Grandmother Should Not Have Substantial Visitation Rights. By: Susanna B.

Link for opinion: http://caselaw.findlaw.com/mn-court-of-appeals/1571393.html

The Minnesota Court of Appeals held in In re the Minor Child: C. D. G. D., born September 20, 2008; Roxanne Marie Givens, third party petitioner, Respondent, vs. Anthony Michael Darst, Appellant, 800 N.W.2d 652 (Minn. Ct. App. 2011) the grandmother was not entitles to noncustodial parental visitation and determined that it would impose and interfere with the father's parent-child relationship.  

The maternal grandmother of a minor child whose mother was murdered, petitioned the district court ex parte to become the minor child’s “sole legal and sole physical” custodian without notice to the father. The district court ordered that the grandmother be designated as temporary legal and physical custodian.  The father challenged the order and petitioned for judgment of paternity so that he could secure his paternal right to sole legal and physical custody. 

C. D. G. D, and his mother, daughter of Roxanne Given’s, lived with Given’s from his birth in September 2008, until the mother’s murder four months later. Uninvolved with the mother at the time of the murder, Anthony Darst had not been named as the father of C.D.G.D. on the birth certificate, but had been previously recognized as the father and C.D.G.D. had been given Darst’s surname. Given’s sought “sole legal and sole physical” custody two weeks after the murder.  Her petition, filed without notice to Darst, stated only that Darst “may be” C.D.G.D.'s father.  The district court ordered that Given’s be granted temporary legal and physical custody.  Given’s retained legal and physical custody of C.D.G.D.  until November 9, 2009, when the court dismissed Given’s petition for sole legal and sole physical custody after Darst was genetically proven to be the father.  Darst was deemed to be C.DG.D’s only living parent and gained sole custody.

In February 2010, Givens petitioned for grandparent visitation.  The district court awarded the following grandparent visitation schedule in periodically increasing amounts: For the first 90 days, every Tuesday ․ from 1:00 p.m. until 5:30 p.m., and every Saturday from 10:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m.  For the second 90 days, every Tuesday and Thursday from 1:00 p.m. until 5:30 p.m., and every Saturday over night from 10:00 a.m. on Saturday until 10 a.m. on Sunday. The following six months, every Tuesday and Thursday from 1:00 p.m. until 5:30 p.m., and every other weekend from Friday at 5:00 p.m. until Sunday at 5:00 p.m. 

Upon appeal by Darst, the court ordered that the grandmother’s visitation schedule was excessive and interfered with the parent-child relationship.  The court reversed the district court's visitation order and remand with instructions to issue an amended order adopting Darst's proposed schedule with variations to accommodate visitation on or near significant holidays, within the district court's discretion.

Labels for the post: Child visitation, Grandparent, Custody