Subscriber Benefit
As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe Now
A grandfather may proceed with his petition for visitation with his grandchild, the Court of Appeals of Indiana has ruled in reversing the dismissal of that petition.
Grandfather Mark Stoner is seeking visitation with S.S., the child of Julia and Zachary — now known as Elizabeth — Stoner. The couple divorced in September 2021 and were ordered to share joint legal and physical custody of S.S.
The couple’s divorce decree also provided that the parents would “develop and maintain meaningful relationships with other significant adults (grandparents, stepparents and other relatives) as long as these relationships do not interfere with or replace the child’s primary relationships with the parents.”
About a year after the divorce, Mark Stoner filed a motion to intervene and a petition for grandparent visitation under the Grandparent Visitation Act, Indiana Code § 31-17-5.
The Marion Superior Court granted the motion to intervene but dismissed Stoner’s petition for grandparent visitation, relying on Matter of E.H., 121 N.E.3d 594 (Ind. Ct. App. 2019).
But the Court of Appeals turned to state statute to reverse.
“Here, S.S. is a child under Ind. Code § 31-9-2-13, and Grandparent is the parent of S.S.’s parent, Elizabeth, under Ind. Code § 31-9-2-77,” Judge Elaine Brown wrote Monday in Mark Stoner v. Julia M. Stoner and Elizabeth G. Stoner, 23A-DC-1185. “Moreover, the marriage of Parents has been dissolved in Indiana. Accordingly, Grandfather ‘may seek visitation rights’ as referenced in Ind. Code § 31-17-5-1(a)(2).”
The appellate court also determined E.H. does not require dismissal of Stoner’s petition. That case involved the question of whether a child who was adopted by an unmarried person had been born “out of wedlock” — a question not at issue in Stoner’s case.
Further, the COA distinguished Lockhart v. Lockhart, 603 N.E.2d 864 (Ind. Ct. App. 1992), by noting that current statute “does not preclude a grandparent from seeking visitation with a child where the custodian of the child is the grandparent’s child.”
Finally, the appellate panel pointed to the provision of the divorce decree providing that the parents would “develop and maintain meaningful relationships with other significant adults,” including grandparents.
“We conclude that Grandfather has established prima facie error and that he may seek visitation rights with S.S. under the GVA,” Brown wrote. “We reverse and remand for further proceedings on Grandfather’s petition.”
Please enable JavaScript to view this content.