In Re Baby M
This text of 542 A.2d 52 (In Re Baby M) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New Jersey Superior Court Appellate Division primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.
Opinion
IN THE MATTER OF BABY M, A PSEUDONYM FOR AN ACTUAL PERSON.
Superior Court of New Jersey, Chancery Division Family Part, Bergen County.
*269 Gary N. Skoloff and Francis W. Donahue for plaintiffs (Skoloff & Wolfe, attorneys).
Harold J. Cassidy and Joel Siegal for defendants (Cassidy, Foss & SanFilipo, attorneys).
SWEEN, J.S.C.
Prior court proceedings have adjudicated the parties' rights in this case. Melissa will be in the custody of William Stern and have visitation with Mary Beth Whitehead Gould. The sole purpose of this proceeding is to define the visitation, taking into consideration the particular circumstances of Melissa, her parents, stepparents, and extended families. The court finds that Melissa's best interests will be served by unsupervised, uninterrupted, liberal visitation with her mother.
I.
The initial supervised visitation order was entered by the court after Mary Beth Whitehead Gould had fled New Jersey with her baby and threatened the baby's life. Family and financial crises engulfed her marriage, and she was under the stress of having lost custody of her newborn baby. Since that time her marital problems have been resolved through divorce; she has attained family stability with her new husband, and has come to the realization that she will never have custody of Melissa, who will be raised by her father and stepmother. The court finds, and the parties and their expert witnesses agree, there is no present evidence of any risk that Mary Beth Whitehead Gould will again flee with Melissa or cause her any physical harm.
II.
Mary Beth Whitehead Gould had custody of Melissa and nurtured her for four months after her birth. Thereafter, she has seen Melissa on a regular, periodic basis until the present *270 time. They have a warm and loving relationship, interact well and appropriately, and stay engaged with each other over two-hour periods under restrictive and confining circumstances.
Melissa has no problems separating from her father or stepmother when brought to visitation, no separation anxiety during the two hours she is left with her mother, and no adverse reactions to visitation after she has returned to her father and stepmother. The court finds no credible evidence or expert opinion that Melissa will suffer any psychological or emotional harm by continued and expanded visitation with her mother.
William and Elizabeth Stern offered no evidence to support their fears that Melissa's continued relationship with her mother will somehow adversely affect her development or jeopardize their parent-child relationship. Their expert witness offered no clinical studies or personal observations of children under his care in similar circumstances to support his opinion that there should be no visitation until Melissa expresses a desire to meet her mother or until she is 12 years old. Neither the Sterns nor their expert seemed able to comprehend this is no longer a termination of parental rights or adoption case and it no longer matters how Melissa was legally conceived. She and her mother have the right to develop their own special relationship.
William and Elizabeth Stern are extraordinarily good parents who are devoting themselves to the nurturing and development of their daughter and their daughter is firmly bonded to them. Melissa is a resilient child who is no less capable than thousands of children of broken marriages who successfully adjust to complex family relationships when their parents remarry.
III.
Melissa's adjustment and the quality of her relationships with her parents and step-parents will depend largely on how well they accept and adjust to their respective roles. Mary Beth Whitehead Gould must accept and understand that Melissa is not Sarah and that her father and stepmother will be her *271 parental-role models and provide the day-to-day, parent-child interaction which will largely determine what kind of person Melissa will become. They will make the parental decisions concerning her religion, education, and moral standards. William and Elizabeth Stern must accept and understand that Melissa will develop a different and special relationship with her mother, stepfather, siblings, and extended family, and that these relationships need not diminish their parent-child relationship with Melissa.
The court does not underestimate the great difficulty the parties will have in accepting the others' role in Melissa's life. Family dreams have been shattered, insults and false accusations have been exchanged, and lies and deceptions made in the heat of litigation. However, family tragedies in our society are not uncommon and parents often are called upon to make sacrifices arising from unforeseen circumstances. In the context of family problems frequently seen by Family Court judges, the causes of the parties' estrangement do not appear insurmountable.
Melissa is a healthy, bright, attractive child with a mother, father, and stepmother who love her dearly and are obviously willing to make great sacrifices on her behalf. Her tender age has protected her from the notoriety of the much publicized trial and her parents have the opportunity to plan for her further protection in the future should the need arise. She has not suffered the agony of a broken marriage of parents and will be able to develop individual relationships with her parents and stepparents from infancy.
The parties do not have the emotional scars of a failure of an intimate relationship intertwined with that of their child. They have never been emotionally involved and should be able to make rational decisions in their mutual best interests and the best interest of Melissa.
*272 The parties are financially able to provide for themselves and Melissa and both have good homes in good communities with facilities and programs for children.
Melissa's best interests require that the parties do more than merely comply with the court's orders concerning visitation. It is imperative that the parties communicate freely with one another concerning Melissa's needs, not contradict one another concerning parent-child decisions, and maintain a flexible attitude toward visitation to meet the changing needs. The court finds that the parties will benefit by counselling in overcoming initial communication barriers, establishing visitation guidelines, and receiving necessary professional advice. Therefore, the court will appoint a mental health professional and direct that the parties participate in such counselling as the mental health professional shall deem advisable.
IV.
The parties and their expert witnesses all agree that publicity concerning Melissa should be avoided. The court's decision is based, in part, on the parties' representations that they will not discuss publicly their relationship with Melissa and her personal activities. Each of the parties has a right to rely on the others' representation concerning their and Melissa's right to privacy and, therefore, the court will enter an order enjoining and restraining each of the parties from publicly discussing their relationship with Melissa or her personal activities without prior approval of the court. In like manner, the parties have represented that they have no intention of selling any "movie rights" they may have concerning "Baby M" as the sale of such rights may permit the parties, Melissa, or their activities to be fictionally portrayed.
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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack
542 A.2d 52, 225 N.J. Super. 267, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-baby-m-njsuperctappdiv-1988.