Title: Maine: Supreme Court holds that grandmother not entitled to visitation under Grandparents Visitation Act. BY: Kara S.

Link for opinion:  http://caselaw.findlaw.com/me-supreme-judicial-court/1589364.html

The Maine Supreme Court held in Katon v. Brandi, 2011 ME 131; 32 A.3d 1047 that a grandmother who had improperly withheld her granddaughter from her father was not entitled to visitation under the Grandparents Visitation Act.

Laurie Katon, the maternal grandmother in this case, petitioned the court for visitation rights to her granddaughter.  Throughout her granddaughter’s life, she had a normal grandparent relationship with her granddaughter with the exception of the time period from August of 2008 to August of 2010 when the granddaughter lived with Katon.  During this two year time period where the granddaughter lived with her grandmother, Katon did everything she could to prevent the child from having any contact with her father.

The Grandparents Visitation Act requires that there be “urgent circumstances” at hand in order for a grandparent to be granted visitation rights.  The Maine district court denied Katon’s petition on the grounds that she did not have any standing for urgent circumstances based on the fact that she had undermined the relationship of the child and the child’s father while the child was in Katon’s care.  The Supreme Court held the district court’s decision on the same basis and also added that Katon was trying to “…benefit from her own unwarranted conduct.”

Labels for post:  child visitation, grandparents, Grandparents Visitation Act