A 16-month series of visitation disputes between the parties culminated in an order that the trial court issued after interviewing the children and in which the trial court found that it was not in the younger children's best interests to visit the oldest child. Realander moved to modify visitation claiming, among other things, that the oldest child had a right to visit his siblings and that the trial court was biased. The trial court refused to alter the ruling. This appeal followed. Mother did not file a brief on appeal, and the appeal proceeded under Minn. R. Civ.
Visitation is to be granted and modified to the extent it is in the children's best interests.
That statute, however, only addresses visitation of children by noncustodial parents and grandparents. Thus, the trial court properly refused to grant the oldest child visitation with his siblings under this statute. See Minn. Stat. See Minn. Stat. We assume that children have an independent common law right to visitation with their siblings.