Kitchen v. Kitchen, 953 N.E.2d 646

Danny and Rebecca Kitchen were married; March 10, 2006 dissolution decree granted joint legal custody with Rebecca primarily physically custodial and Danny with regular parenting time.
Rebecca and K.K. lived with the Lakes from 2006 until Rebecca’s death on December 14, 2007; Danny petitioned for immediate custody amid dispute over Lakes’ custody posture.
Lakes filed guardianship petition and intervened in the dissolution matter, alleging Danny had not seen K.K. for about twenty months.
An agreement gave Lakes temporary custody of K.K. and granted Danny parenting time, but disputes and accusations of denied visitation arose, including a request by Lakes for restricted parenting time due to alleged sexual abuse.
On June 26, 2009 the trial court awarded Danny full custody of K.K. with Lakes’ visitation supervised; no party appealed that order.
Danny later sought to vacate the Lakes’ visitation portion (March 11, 2010); Lakes sought enforcement; in August 2010 Danny was found in contempt; in September 2010 Danny moved for relief from judgment arguing Lakes lacked standing to petition for visitation; the trial court denied the motion and Danny appeals.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the Lakes had standing to seek visitation and whether the court could grant third-party visitation.	Lakes had standing as maternal aunt and uncle; they should be able to seek visitation.	Court should limit standing to parents, grandparents, and step-parents; third-party visitation not authorized.	Trial court erred; standing is limited to parents, grandparents, and step-parents; third-party visitation not authorized.
Whether Danny’s challenge to the visitation order was timely under Rule 60(B).	Rule 60(B) relief (6/8) is timely; Lakes’ standing defects render the order voidable/void.	Challenge timeliness depends on void vs voidable status; Lakes’ lack of standing makes the order void; relief timely.	Order granting Lakes visitation was void for lack of standing; relief from judgment granted; remanded.

In re Paternity of J.A.C., 734 N.E.2d 1057 (Ind.Ct.App. 2000) (standing for third-party visitation limited and insufficient findings rejected visitation order)
Worrell v. Elkhart County Office of Family & Children, 704 N.E.2d 1027 (Ind. 1998) (standing for former foster parents to petition visitation rejected)
Collins v. Gilbreath, 403 N.E.2d 921 (Ind.Ct.App. 1980) (two-prong test for third-party visitation; limited expansion debated)
King v. S.B., 837 N.E.2d 965 (Ind. 2005) (former domestic partner case; limited relevance to standing issue)
M.S. v. C.S., 938 N.E.2d 278 (Ind.Ct.App. 2010) (visitation in same-sex partner context; distinguishable)
Troxel v. Granville, 530 U.S. 57 (2000) (recognizes parental rights as fundamental liberty interest)
Bester v. Lake County Office of Family & Children, 839 N.E.2d 143 (Ind.2005) (standing and parental rights framework; constitutional protections)
P.E.M. (In re Paternity of P.E.M.), 818 N.E.2d 32 (Ind.Ct.App. 2004) (voidable vs void visitation order; findings requirement}%)