K.L. v. E.H., 6 N.E.3d 1021

Mother gave birth to L.L. after the biological father (Father) died by suicide in October 2011; paternity was later established.
Paternal grandfather (Grandfather) filed to intervene and then filed a verified petition for grandparent visitation.
The trial court ordered court‑directed family counseling/mediation; the mediator (Halladay) wrote a letter but the court excluded the mediator’s testimony as confidential.
The court found Grandfather had a close, experienced, "close‑knit" family, had previously attended family events with Mother and Father, and had requested further contact that Mother ignored or denied.
The trial court concluded visitation was in the child’s best interests, balanced the presumptions favoring a fit parent’s decision, and awarded limited monthly visitation (starting at two 2‑hour supervised visits per month, later increasing to unsupervised and longer visits).
Mother appealed, challenging (1) exclusion of the counselor’s testimony and (2) the grant/terms of grandparent visitation; the appellate court affirmed.

Issue	Mother’s Argument	Grandfather’s Argument	Held
Admissibility of mediator/counselor testimony	Trial court erred by excluding Halladay’s testimony about Grandfather terminating counseling and lost progress; that evidence was relevant to Grandfather’s temperament and fitness	Mediation/counseling sessions were confidential under Evidence Rule 408 and ADR rules; mediator testimony is privileged and inadmissible	Court affirmed exclusion: confidentiality policy for mediation/counseling applies; trial court did not abuse discretion in excluding testimony
Grant of grandparent visitation	The visitation order improperly overrode a fit parent’s fundamental right; Mother’s reasons (bonding time, child’s special medical needs, plan for disclosure about father) were sufficient and court undervalued them	Grandfather rebutted presumption by showing prior family involvement, requests for contact, parenting experience, no evidence child would be unsafe; visitation limited and temporary	Court affirmed: trial court made required findings addressing Troxel/McCune factors and concluded visitation was in child’s best interest without substantially infringing parental rights

Troxel v. Granville, 530 U.S. 57 (2000) (parents have fundamental right to direct children’s upbringing; nonparent visitation is constrained)
In re Visitation of M.L.B., 983 N.E.2d 583 (Ind. 2013) (grandparent‑visitation orders must include findings addressing the Troxel factors)
In re K.I., 903 N.E.2d 453 (Ind. 2009) (Grandparent Visitation Act contemplates limited, occasional visitation that does not substantially infringe parental rights)
McCune v. Frey, 783 N.E.2d 752 (Ind. Ct. App. 2003) (articulates four factors—presumption for fit parent, special weight to parent’s decision, weight to prior visitation, best interests analysis)
Horner v. Carter, 981 N.E.2d 1210 (Ind. 2013) (strong Indiana policy favoring confidentiality of mediation)
In re A.J., 877 N.E.2d 805 (Ind. Ct. App. 2007) (admission of evidence reviewed for abuse of discretion)