Sharon WEBER, Appellant, v. Carolyn WEBER and Robert Weber, Appellees.
Superior Court of Pennsylvania.
Feb. 17, 1987.
May 1, 1987.
524 A.2d 498
Argued July 17, 1986. Petition for Allowance of Appeal Granted Sept. 9, 1987.
Louis Vaira, Pittsburgh, for appellees.
Before BROSKY, MONTGOMERY and HESTER, JJ.
MONTGOMERY, Judge:
This appeal is from an order granting summary judgment and dismissing appellant‘s complaint for partial custody of Jennifer Weber, appellant‘s sister and appellees’ minor daughter. For the reasons that follow, we affirm.
Appellees Carolyn and Robert Weber are the parents of both appellant Sharon Weber and Jennifer Weber, who is still a minor. Jennifer resides with her parents. Sharon is an adult who is unmarried and resides with an unmarried man in a residence separate from her parents and sister. Because Mrs. Weber does not approve of Sharon‘s living arrangements, she refused to permit Jennifer to visit with
The issue in this case is not simply whether Sharon and Jennifer should be permitted to visit with one another. Rather, the issue encompasses the more difficult question of whether and to what extent the courts can interfere in a decision made by parents of a minor child regarding who that child may associate with.
The right to raise one‘s children has long been recognized as one of our basic civil rights. Pierce v. Society of Sisters, 268 U.S. 510, 45 S.Ct. 571, 69 L.Ed. 1070 (1925); Meyer v. Nebraska, 262 U.S. 390, 43 S.Ct. 625, 67 L.Ed. 1042 (1923); In re Rinker, 180 Pa.Super. 143, 117 A.2d 780 (1955). Freedom of personal choice in matters of family life, and the concomitant freedom from unwarranted governmental intrusion, is a fundamental liberty interest protected by the Fourteenth Amendment. Santosky v. Kramer, 455 U.S. 745, 102 S.Ct. 1388, 71 L.Ed.2d 599 (1982). For these reasons, governmental intrusion into the family is warranted only in exceptional circumstances. The statutory bases for court interference with the parents’ right to custody are limited and specific, reflecting that philosophy. See,
Appellant concedes that this case does not fall within any of the statutory bases for jurisdiction. Further, appellant does not challenge the fitness of appellees as custodians of
In a similar case, this court held that grandparents do not have standing to seek visitation or partial custody, over the parents’ objection, unless they come within the purview of the Grandparents’ Visitation Act. Herron v. Seizak, 321 Pa.Super. 466, 468 A.2d 803 (1983). In that case, too, the issue was not whether the parents had made a wise decision but whether the court had the power to overrule the parents’ decision, absent statutory authority.2 In that case, the court noted that neither case nor statutory law “legitimizes such an intrusion by the courts into family life.” Id., 321 Pa.Superior Ct. at 470, 468 A.2d 805. Since the grandparents had not made any “allegation that would justify an interference with [the parents‘] decision not to permit visitation” the court refused to “intervene in this family matter in which no legal rights are at issue.” Id. We believe that analysis to be appropriate to this case as well. Finding that appellant has not alleged a right to court intervention into this family matter, we affirm the order dismissing appellant‘s petition.
BROSKY, J., files a concurring opinion.
Because of the current state of the law, I am constrained to concur in the result reached by the majority. I write separately, however, because I feel that this is an area to be more fully examined and acted upon by the legislature of this Commonwealth.
I am of the opinion that siblings have a right to visit with one another, in certain circumstances, if it is considered to be in the best interest of the child or children involved. The importance of sibling relationships has been well recognized by the courts. In Albright v. Com. ex rel. Fetters, 491 Pa. 320 at 325, 421 A.2d 157 at 160 (1980) our Supreme Court stated that, “It has always been a strong policy in our law that in the absence of compelling reasons to the contrary, siblings should be raised together whenever possible.” In In re Davis, 502 Pa. 110, 124, 465 A.2d 614, 621 (1983) the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania reaffirmed this when it echoed the “well founded policy that brothers and sisters should be raised together in one household.” The most definitive statement of this policy, comes from the New Jersey Superior Court. In L. v. G. 203 N.J.Super. 385, 497 A.2d 215 at 222 (1985), a case similar to the one at bar, the court held that:
... this Court finds that the relationship between a child and his/her siblings is a significant and unique one, from which a myriad of benefits and experiences may be derived. The bonds which develop between brothers and sisters are strong ones, and are, in most cases, irreplaceable ... Therefore, this Court finds that siblings possess the natural, inherent and inalienable right to visit with each other. This right is, of course, subject to the requirement that such visitation be in the best interest of the minor child, for it is that which is of paramount concern to this Court.
I agree with this holding.
The relationships between siblings should be closely guarded and nurtured, since it is those relationships that will provide a harbor from which a child may find her way
By forcing Sharon and Jennifer to remain apart there may be more harm done to Jennifer than merely depriving her of a potential supportive relationship. If there already exists a deeprooted bond between the sisters, severing it may cause Jennifer to suffer a deep sense of loss and undermine her sense of security and stability.1
Both the trial court and the majority here, rely upon this court‘s decision in Herron v. Seizak, 321 Pa.Super. 466, 468 A.2d 803 (1983) in concluding that appellant has no right to seek partial custody of her minor sibling. Their reliance upon that holding is unfounded for it deals with a different set of circumstances since it involves grandparents and an interpretation of the Grandparent‘s Visitation Act.
In Herron this court denied grandparents the right to sue for visitation of their grandchild under the Custody and Grandparents Visitation Act,
In the case sub judice, no relevant statutory constriction exists. In the absence of this we must look to the common law. The courts of this state have, in the past, recognized the rights of non-parents to sue for custody of a minor child, Commonwealth ex rel. Williams v. Miller, 254 Pa.Super. 227, 385 A.2d 992 (1978) and Commonwealth ex rel. Zaffarano v. Genaro, 500 Pa. 256, 455 A.2d 1180 (1983) and
In view of the line drawn between custody and visitation, we should discuss the difference between the three types of custodial arrangements in Pennsylvania: custody; partial custody; and visitation. Under the Revised Uniform Reciprocal Enforcement of Support Act (1968),
“Legal custody.” The legal right to make major decisions affecting the best interest of a minor child, including, but not limited to, medical, religious and educational decisions.
“Partial custody.” The right to take possession of a child away from the custodial parent for a certain period of time.
“Visitation.” The right to visit a child. The term does not include the right to remove a child from the custodial parent‘s control.
These distinctions were noted by our Supreme Court in Commonwealth ex rel. Zaffarano v. Genaro, supra, 500 Pa. at 259-260, 455 A.2d at 1182:
The distinguishing elements of these arrangements are “[t]he length of existing visits, the frequency with which they occur, whose home the visits take place in, and who is in effective control of the children during the visit.” Note, Visitation Rights of a Grandparent Over the Objection of a Parent: The Best Interests of the Child, 15 J.Fam.L. 51, 67 (1976-77). Thus, at one end of the spectrum is custody, which is a relatively permanent arrangement that involves keeping and caring for a child on a continual basis and that affords the custodian the greatest degree of day-to-day control over the child. At the opposite end of the spectrum is visitation, which allows for the least amount of control over the child and contacts of a relatively short duration since visits must be held in the presence of the child‘s custodian. Between these extremes is partial custody, which involves greater control over the child than does visitation because it takes
place away from the child‘s custodian, and which may involve contacts of relatively long duration, such as a weekend or a month of summer vacation. (footnotes omitted).
Because there are no statutory provisions which address sibling custody/visitation rights, and in view of the changing face of today‘s family, perhaps the legislature should delineate, more explicitly, sibling rights in this matter.