Court Opinion

ID: 9663913
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-23 23:55:00.935245+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:14:59.043174
License: Public Domain

Fahrnbruch, J.,
concurring in part, and in part dissenting.
Preliminarily, I agree with the majority’s analysis that visitation with a stepchild may be granted to a stepparent who established the status of in loco parentis with the child while married to the child’s natural parent.
Additional consideration of the in loco parentis doctrine requires that this cause be remanded to the trial court for further proceedings.
The term “in loco parentis” means in place of a parent, and a “person in loco parentis” is one who has assumed the status and obligations of a parent without formal adoption. Gribble v. Gribble, 583 P.2d 64 (Utah 1978). The common law concerning termination of loco parentis status is that only the surrogate parent or the child is able to terminate the status at will, and rights, duties, and obligations continue as long as they choose to continue the relationship. Id. Since the child in this case is of a tender age, she can only exercise her right to terminate a loco parentis status through a guardian ad litem. No separate guardian ad litem was appointed for her. Because the child’s mother bartered the child’s visitation with the child’s stepfather to obtain the custody of the parties’ elder son, her interests and her daughter’s interests were in conflict. Likewise, since the stepfather was using both his son and his stepdaughter as *594bargaining chips, the stepdaughter’s and stepfather’s interests were not the same.
As noted by the majority, the wife in this case allowed the stepfather visitation privileges with her natural daughter in return for her husband’s giving her custody of the elder son of the parties. Under that type of bartering system, who represented the best interests of the daughter? The trial court did appoint a lawyer as an attorney and guardian ad litem “for the minor children of these parties.” It is unclear from the record whether the lawyer was appointed as an attorney and guardian ad litem for only the parties’ two sons or for the appellee’s stepdaughter as well. Regardless of any guardian ad litem appointment, the parties should not have been permitted to barter either the rights of the elder son of the parties or those of his half sister.
The result of the bartering was reduced to a stipulation which was signed not only by the parties, but also by the guardian ad litem appointed by the court. Each party testimonially admitted their son’s custody was granted to the mother conditioned upon the appellee’s obtaining visitation rights with his stepdaughter. The trial judge was of the opinion that he could not legally order visitation of the stepdaughter with the appellee. He stated, “I can do something else that effectively provides the same thing, which I’m going to do, and I’m going to adopt the stipulation that they entered into and order that both parties comply with it.” The trial judge then pointed out that if Mrs. Hickenbottom chose not to grant Mr. Hickenbottom visitation with her daughter, Mrs. Hickenbottom could be held in contempt of court.
The bartering of custody and visitation rights shown in this record involves the lives and emotions of young children and is nothing short of outrageous. It should be discouraged by this court in the strongest of terms. As we have declared previously, “[cjhildren have the right to be treated as interested and affected persons and not as pawns or chattel of either or both parents.” Hibbard v. Hibbard, 230 Neb. 364, 366, 431 N.W.2d 637, 639 (1988). The mother’s natural daughter and that child’s half brother were merely pawns and chattel in this case.
Based upon the record, it is apparent that neither the lawyer *595appointed as attorney and guardian ad litem for the parties’ children nor the trial court considered the lawyer to be representing Mrs. Hickenbottom’s natural daughter. First, no issue was raised by the guardian ad litem as to the liability of Mr. Hickenbottom for support for his minor stepdaughter. Had he done so, the guardian ad litem might well have had a conflict of interest concerning the parties’ two sons and the appellee’s stepdaughter. Secondly, the court stated, “I am not making any determination that there was any legal right on the [appellee] to have visitation [with his stepdaughter] other than he and his wife entered into an agreement and that agreement showed that that visitation would be in the best interests of the stepdaughter.” There is no requirement in the dissolution decree for the appellee to provide child support or other support, such as medical insurance benefits, to his wife’s natural daughter.
In the record, there is no indication that the about to be ex-stepfather is willing to continue completely his in loco parentis status. The appellee wants visitation privileges with his stepdaughter, but apparently wants to terminate any of the obligations attendant with an in loco parentis status. By dissolution of her mother and stepfather’s marriage, appellee’s stepdaughter is deprived of her stepfather’s obligation to support her. See Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 28-705 and 28-706 (Reissue 1989). The appellee has made no provision for his stepdaughter’s support, nor did the trial court make any support provision from her stepfather for her. This may be an indication that the stepfather intended to terminate his loco parentis status. Obviously, by their bartering the visitation of one child against the custody of another, the principals in this dissolution proceeding acted in their own interests and gave scant consideration to the best interests of the mother’s daughter born of a previous marriage. These facts alone required the trial court to appoint a separate guardian ad litem for the girl.
In Gribble v. Gribble, 583 P.2d 64 (Utah 1978), the stepfather offered to set up a trust fund for his stepson. But as in Gribble, the stepfather here made no offer to pay child support, and certainly he has no legal duty to do so after a marriage dissolution decree is entered unless he maintains his “loco *596parentis” status. In Gribble the court declared:
It may be that if a stepfather standing in the status of loco parentis is given the opportunity to seek visitation rights as a right afforded a natural parent, that he should not be permitted to escape the duties and obligations of the loco parentis status as long as that relationship remains intact. A hearing could determine not only the right to visitation, but could determine whether that right should be conditioned on a requirement that the stepfather accept an obligation to assist in the support of the child. This is not only consistent with the concept of loco parentis but may well be necessary to the child’s welfare. Loco parentis does not envision that a stepparent be permitted to enjoy the rights of a natural parent without also accepting the responsibilities that are incurred.
(Emphasis supplied.) 583 P.2d at 68.
As stated in Klipstein v. Zalewski, 230 N.J. Super. 567, 553 A.2d 1384 (1988), the obligation to support and the right to visitation are correlative and the two legal tenets should be applied in pari materia. Holding a stepparent liable for child support may serve to discourage suits for visitation by one who, rather than wishing to preserve a relationship with a former stepchild, wishes only to annoy or harass a former spouse.
Visitation privileges of stepparents should not be granted lightly. As the Klipstein court declared:
There must be some limits on stepparent visitation rights because in our society it is not difficult to conceive of a child having three, four or even more stepfathers and there are not enough days in a week for the child to have visitation with all of them. Frequently, there will be no satisfactory solution which will please everyone. Justice to both the stepfather and the child, which is the desired objective, can rarely be attained [in certain cases] because the interests of one can be satisfied in many cases only at the expense of the other. And if these competing interests cannot be reconciled, it is the rights of the stepfather which must fall.
230 N.J. Super, at 571, 553 A.2d at 1386.
Equally troubling in this case is the absence of the child’s *597biological father as a party to the dissolution action. The record reflects that his location was readily available. Although he may be completely indifferent to the child, nonetheless the biological father has a legal interest which he is entitled to protect should he wish to do so. We have held:
“ ‘ “Indispensable parties to a suit are those who not only have an interest in the subject matter of the controversy, but also have an interest of such a nature that a final decree cannot be made without affecting their interests, or leaving the controversy in such a condition that its final determination may be wholly inconsistent with equity and good conscience....” ’ ”
Koch v. Koch, 226 Neb. 305, 312, 411 N.W.2d 319, 323 (1987).
It is obvious that granting rights of visitation to a former stepparent may in some cases interfere with some rights of a biological parent who is not otherwise affected by the dissolution proceeding. For example, under some circumstances any rights of visitation granted the former stepparent might disrupt a natural parent’s established schedule of visitation. Thus, a stepparent seeking visitation rights with one about to become a former stepchild should be required to join as a party to the dissolution action the otherwise not affected biological parent of the child.
In this case it is conceivable that the biological father may have forfeited any rights he had as the natural parent of appellee’s stepdaughter. However, that is not a determination that can be made without giving appropriate notice to the biological father and an opportunity for him to be heard.
This case should be remanded to the trial court, where, after notice to the biological father of the minor child involved and the appointment of a separate guardian ad litem for the child, a determination should be made as to whether the appellee wishes to continue his status of loco parentis to his ex-stepdaughter not only by exercising the privilege of visitation, but also by assuming the obligations of that status. Should Mr. Hickenbottom desire to maintain his loco parentis status and should the trial court find that it is in the best interests of the child that the status of appellee as loco parentis be maintained, then the trial court should require the appellee to appropriately *598support the child.
White, J., joins in this concurrence and dissent.