Parent and child - Visitation - Grandmother.

Byline: R.I. Lawyers Weekly Staff

Where a Family Court judge denied a plaintiff grandmother's petition for visitation with two children of her daughter, who is deceased, and the defendant, the grandmother has not rebutted the presumption that the defendant's decision to refuse the grandparent visitation was reasonable.

Affirmed.

"On appeal, plaintiff contends that she proved, by clear and convincing evidence, that defendant's decision to deny her grandparent visitation was unreasonable. She also argues that she presented evidence that she was a fit and proper person to have visitation.

" Here, plaintiff admitted in her testimony below and there was no evidence presented to the contrary that defendant is a fit custodial parent. Therefore, plaintiff had the burden of proving, 'by clear and convincing evidence, [that she] has successfully rebutted the presumption that [defendant's] decision to refuse the grandparent visitation with [Danielle and Adam] was reasonable.' See 15-5-24.3(2)(v) (emphasis added).

"We are satisfied that the hearing justice did not abuse his discretion in denying plaintiff's petition for grandparent visitation. In his eight-page written decision, the hearing justice reviewed the testimony of all three witnesses as well as the report by the Family Court investigator. He observed that the investigator's report concluded that the children had no interest in visiting with plaintiff, and he also considered the investigator's observation that, in the hearing justice's words, the children 'are happy and healthy with their father and stepmother' as well as the investigator's recommendation that '[p]laintiff have no further visitation with the children in...