ZOELLER V. GUTTERMAN
FAMILY LAW: GRANDPARENT VISITATION AND ADOPTION
2006-CA-002141
PUBLISHED: AFFIRMING
PANEL: THOMPSON, PRESIDING; NICKELL, STUMBO CONCUR
COUNTY: JEFFERSON
DATE RENDERED: 10/26/2007
Grandmother and her Husband appealed from TC’s order holding that Grandfather had standing to seek grandparent visitation and that visitation would be in the best interest of Grandchild.
FACTS:
Grandchild was born to 15 year-old unwed Daughter, and no putative father was named. Daughter agreed that Grandmother and her Husband would be court-appointed guardians for Grandchild. Daughter died about two years later. Grandmother and Husband filed a Petition to adopt Grandchild in Jefferson Family Court, Division Three. Two weeks later, unaware of the pending adoption petition, Grandfather filed a petition for grandparent visitation in Jefferson Family Court, Division Four. The adoption petition was granted about a month later, prior to the entry of the grandparent visitation order. Grandfather than amended his petition in the visitation action, but Grandmother responded that he lacked standing to seek grandparent visitation because of the adoption. A GAL was appointed for grandchild. The GAL filed her report and motion requesting that Grandfather be granted immediate visitation. TC ultimately ordered that Grandfather have temporary visitation with Grandchild every weekend. After seeking a writ of prohibition from CA, which was denied, and receiving SC’s memorandum opinion affirming same, TC finally held evidentiary hearing. TC determined that Grandfather did have standing to proceed and that it was in Grandchild’s best interests to continue his relationship with Grandfather, and thus granted Grandfather’s petition and established terms of visitation. Grandmother and Husband filed CR 52 and 59 motions, both of which were denied, filed an appeal of these denials with CA, and subsequently filed a motion for intermediate relief with CA and requested emergency relief, which was denied.
ARGUMENTS AND ANALYSIS:
Grandmother and Husband contended that TC should have dismissed the case because Grandfather did not obtain a circuit court visitation order prior to the entry of the adoption decree, and KRS 405.021, the grandparent visitation statute, requires a visitation order to be issued by the circuit court prior to the termination of parental rights of a grandparent’s son or daughter to protect grandparent visitation rights with the children of that son or daughter. CA agreed that this was the correct interpretation of the statute, but that it was incorrectly applied as the case at bar did not concern termination of parental rights. CA found it to be even more important that the statute and cases interpreting it did not allude to situations where one grandparent used the adoption statute as a means to bypass the grandparents’ visitation statute, as CA found Grandmother to have done.
Because a parent’s rights lapse upon death, there is no contested proceeding to alert a grandparent that visitation rights need to be asserted. However, neither the adoption statute nor the grandparents’ visitation statutes require notice to a grandparent of a pending adoption petition. This could leave open the door to grandparents engaging in a race to the courthouse to conclude an adoption prior to the grandparent’s visitation petition. CA stated that the pending adoption petition in this case was such a significant fact that Grandmother and Husband were required to inform TC of its existence. CA found that Grandmother’s and Husband’s concealment of adoption petition was a “tactical maneuver to circumvent [Grandfather’s] right” to have TC determine whether visitation was in Grandchild’s best interest, and that such manipulation of the timing of the adoption precluded them from successfully challenging Grandfather’s standing.
Following the modified best interest standard for grandparents found in Vibbert v. Vibbert, 144 S.W.3d 292 (Ky. App. 2004), CA determined that, because there was strong evidence that Grandfather and Grandchild had a rewarding and loving relationship during Daughter’s lifetime and that Grandchild had established ties to Grandfather’s family, it was in Grandchild’s best interests to have visitation with Grandfather as established by TC.
