Ian J. v. Peter M.

In this contentious dispute over grandparent visitation, the family court entered an order which improperly invades appellant’s constitutionally protected right to determine who and under what circumstances individuals may have contact with his daughters, who are now 13 and nine years old.

As we read the cases which have discussed a parent’s constitutional right to limit grandparent visitation, appellant was not required to prove his former father-in-law was guilty of misconduct or was more likely tiran not to harm appellant’s daughters. Rather, because a parent is ultimately responsible for the well-being of a child, and a fit parent is presumed to make decisions in his or her child’s best interest, the grandparents in this case were required to show clear and convincing evidence that, notwithstanding appellant’s objection, extended unsupervised visitation with them was in the children’s best interest. The grandparents failed to meet that burden and the family court therefore erred in ordering visitation under Family Code 2 section 3102.

*192 As we explain, the record contains a number of diary entries made by the girls’ deceased mother in which she accuses her father,…