Grandchild visitation of A.L.U., 2025 MT 131

A.L.U. was born in 2020 to Rozlyn Bluemel and Tyler Uhrich, who were unmarried and later became estranged.
In May 2022, Tyler Uhrich murdered Rozlyn and abandoned A.L.U.; he was later convicted, and his parental rights were terminated in 2023.
The Uhrichs, Tyler’s parents and A.L.U.’s paternal grandparents, adopted A.L.U. in June 2023, ending all contact between A.L.U. and maternal grandmother Sharline Bluemel.
Sharline filed a petition for grandparent visitation soon after the adoption, seeking increased contact compared to what she had during state custody.
A Guardian ad Litem recommended only limited contact, and, after a contentious hearing, the District Court granted Sharline supervised, limited visits every two months, overruling the Uhrichs’ objections.
The Uhrichs appealed, arguing the court improperly overrode their wishes as fit adoptive parents.

Issue	Uhrichs' Argument	Bluemel's Argument	Held
Whether the District Court erred by granting grandparent visitation over the objections of fit adoptive parents	The District Court failed to properly apply the statutory presumption in their favor and substituted its judgment for theirs regarding A.L.U.’s best interests	The District Court properly applied the statutory presumption, found it was rebutted by clear and convincing evidence, and visitation was in A.L.U.'s best interests	The District Court correctly applied the law; presumption rebutted, visitation appropriate

In re Grandparent/Grandchild Contact of C.A.G., 376 Mont. 540 (Mont. 2014) (establishes standards for rebutting the presumption in favor of a fit parent's wishes in grandparent visitation disputes)
Glueckert v. Glueckert, 378 Mont. 507 (Mont. 2015) (outlines appellate deference to trial court’s factual findings in family law)
Polasek v. Omura, 332 Mont. 157 (Mont. 2006) (affirms parental rights to make decisions about child’s upbringing absent clear and convincing evidence to the contrary)