Legal Question in Family Law in Minnesota
Case laws pertaining to limiting parenting time
Hi - I am a self-represented litigant, I am looking for a specific case law(s) to support my case. Here is the situation - my daughter was hospitalized for 2 months for mental health issues, her doctor sees the constant undermining of my parenting and badmouthing from my child's father & his parents and would like to limit their visitation time. The Doctor wrote in a statement: ''The paternal grandparents have been extremely supportive of Emily in a way that has not been helpful to her mother, as they help preserve the black and white thinking that the child is all good and the mother is all bad.'' My child is undergoing intensive therapy now & will be in the future. I will be asking for an every other Saturday visit from the Judge so they can see her (change from more time before), but I need specific case laws to ask for this limited time. FYI I have full legal & physical custody (us parents were unmarried and we did the paternity although my child has never lived with him), the child is supposed to have supervised visits with her father by his parents currently. The grandparents have intervened for in years past they have fought me for custody and lost. Please help, thanks!
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Case laws pertaining to limiting parenting time
You may want to visit the Hennepin County or the Minnesota State Law Library. Although the librarians there cannot do your research for you, they can guide you in the best ways to find the information you need.
I suspect you will not find caselaw that is specifically "on point". Generally, parenting time decisions of Courts are decided applying the guidance of statutes to specific factual situations.
Re: Case laws pertaining to limiting parenting time
Thank you for your question.
Although I understand you may be pro se because you cannot afford an attorney, you would probably benefit from representation in this matter, since it appears to be a case with a long and difficult history.
Nevertheless, there is no single appellate decision that controls the facts of your case. Rather, you will find that the decisional law generally states that any changes in parenting time must be in the best interests of the child. The outcome in cases like yours is heavily dependent on the facts, and not on other decisions in which similar circumstances justified some restriction on parenting time. Unlike other areas of the law, family law ultimately has its roots in equity, and the specific facts of each case are therefore very important. How those facts are developed and presented, and how the timing of the case is handled, is what makes this area so difficult. Ultimately, that is why people hire lawyers.
If you wish to reseach individual cases, you can search the appellate court decision archives at the Minnesota Supreme Court and the Court of Appeals. The database allows for boolean searches, but my guess is you will find this of only limited value.
I cannot tell from your question whether a motion has already been served, or whether you are merely contemplating a motion. If you are contemplating a motion, you would be well advised to carefully develop the facts before anything is served.