O'Dell v. O'Dell
| Decision Date | 17 November 1993 |
| Docket Number | No. 93-00687,93-00687 |
| Parties | 18 Fla. L. Weekly D2468 Roxanne M. O'DELL, Appellant, v. Donald Scott O'DELL, Appellee. |
| Court | Florida District Court of Appeals |
Watson R. Sinden, St. Petersburg, for appellant.
Donald Scott O'Dell, pro se.
Roxanne O'Dell appeals a postdissolution order granting Donald O'Dell visitation rights with his former stepson. Although the record indicates that the stepson would like to visit with his former stepfather, and a guardian ad litem has recommended such visitation, we are constrained to reverse the order.
Roxanne and Donald O'Dell were married in 1987. At the time of the marriage, Mrs. O'Dell was pregnant. Mr. O'Dell helped her through the pregnancy and apparently was in the delivery room when the infant was born. Mr. O'Dell is not the child's biological father. Nevertheless, until the couple divorced in August 1991, Mr. O'Dell was the child's "father," for all practical purposes. In 1990, Mrs. O'Dell gave birth to a second child, who is Mr. O'Dell's biological son.
The final judgment of dissolution of marriage gave Mr. O'Dell no right of visitation with his stepson and no obligation to support him. It gave him both visitation rights and an obligation to pay child support for his own son.
The parties have experienced various difficulties with visitation since the final judgment. A guardian ad litem was appointed to consider the problems. She submitted a thorough report to the court after an extensive investigation. While the guardian ad litem was critical of some of Mr. O'Dell's behavior, she recommended that he have visitation rights with both boys. She concluded that this was in the best interests of the stepson. The trial court accepted her recommendations and ordered visitation between Mr. O'Dell and his former stepson.
Chapter 61 makes no provision for visitation between unrelated parties. The First District has held that a court has "no authority to compel visitation between a child and one who is neither a parent, grandparent, or great-grandparent." Meeks v. Garner, 598 So.2d 261 (Fla. 1st DCA 1992). This court has repeatedly reversed orders giving visitation rights to nonparents. Fischer v. Fischer, 544 So.2d 1079 (Fla. 2d DCA 1989); Tamargo v. Tamargo, 348 So.2d 1163 (Fla. 2d DCA 1977).
We are aware that a "raging debate" exists concerning the wisdom of granting child visitation to "substitute" parents. See Martin L. Haines, III, Rights of Others in the Lives of Children, Fla.Bar J., Dec. 1992, at 44; N. David Korones & Deborah Marks, "Rights" of Others in the...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
D.M.T. v. T.M.H.
...courts do not recognize a claim for specific performance of a contract for visitation in favor of a non-parent”); O'Dell v. O'Dell, 629 So.2d 891 (Fla. 2d DCA 1993) (reversing visitation for a divorced man and former stepson and explaining that the Second District “has repeatedly reversed o......
-
McAllister v. McAllister, 20090176.
...S. v. Michele G., 228 Cal.App.3d 831, 841, 279 Cal. Rptr. 212 (Cal.Ct.App.1991) (ruling superceded by statute); O'Dell v. O'Dell, 629 So.2d 891, 891-92 (Fla.Dist.Ct.App.1993); Petition of Ash, 507 N.W.2d 400, 402-03 (Iowa 1993); In re Hood, 252 Kan. 689, 847 P.2d 1300, 1304 (1993); In re J.......
-
Titchenal v. Dexter
...or visitation, the Legislature is better equipped to deal with the problem. See Nancy S., 279 Cal.Rptr. at 219; O'Dell v. O'Dell, 629 So.2d 891, 891 (Fla.Dist.Ct.App.1993) (raging debate that exists concerning wisdom of granting child visitation to substitute parents is matter best left for......
-
D.M.T. v. T.M.H.
...courts do not recognize a claim for specific performance of a contract for visitation in favor of a non-parent"); O'Dell v. O'Dell, 629 So. 2d 891 (Fla. 2d DCA 1993) (reversing visitation for a divorced man and former stepson and explaining that the Second District "has repeatedly reversed ......