Hoag
Hoag v. Diedjomahor
Opinion
Lead Opinion
Richli, J.
Like the landmark case of Troxel v. Granville (2000) 530 U.S. 57 [ 147 L.Ed.2d 49 , 120 S.Ct. 2054 ] (Troxel), this case involves a grandparent, whose adult child has died, seeking visitation with that child’s minor children over the objection of their surviving parent.
Troxel commands the courts to presume that the surviving parent’s objection to grandparent visitation is in the best interest of the children. However, this does not mean that the surviving parent is free to use the denial of visitation as Big Bertha in his or her personal war with the grandparent. Here, the trial court found that the surviving parent’s claimed reasons for objecting to visitation were not reasonable and not credible; in essence, as he practically admitted on the stand, he objected to visitation mainly to spite the grandparent. Moreover, he admitted that grandparent visitation would be in the best interest of the children. Thus, the presumption that he was acting in the best interest of his children was overcome, and the trial court constitutionally could and did grant the grandparent’s visitation petition.