Bradford, J.
CASE SUMMARY
Appellant E.R. is the maternal grandfather and adoptive father of minor children C.R. and A.R (collectively “the Children”). Appellees are the paternal grandparents of the Children (the “Grandparents”). The trial court awarded Grandparents visitation rights and, upon Grandparents’ motion, ordered that a visitation evaluation be conducted. E.R. appeals the trial court’s order on the visitation evaluation, arguing that the trial court did not have the authority to order the evaluation. E.R. does not contest the trial court’s decision regarding the parameters of the visitation granted to Grandparents. Finding that the trial court did not have the authority to order a visitation evaluation, we reverse.
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Under the express language of Indiana Code 31-17-2-12, Grandparents are not eligible to request a custody evaluation as they are neither the parents of nor the custodians for C.R. and A.R. Additionally, under the plain language of the statute, the trial court does not have the authority to order such an evaluation, in a visitation proceeding, absent a request to do so from a parent or custodian. Grandparents provide no alternative authority under which they would be entitled to request a visitation evaluation, nor is this court aware of any such authority. When asked by the trial court whether they were aware of any authority for a visitation examination, Grandparents responded, “I can’t find any statutory authority for that, but many items in family law don’t have specific statutory authority, but nonetheless, the Court can craft methods to determine the child’s best interest in what the Court wants to do.” Tr. p. 15. However, Grandparents did not provide any examples at the petition hearing or in their appellate brief which illustrate other ways in which a trial court is allowed to “craft methods” to determine a child’s best interest absent authority. In fact, The Indiana Grandparent Visitation Act, Indiana Code chapter 31-17-5, expressly provides additional means by which the court may ascertain the best interests of the child, such as interviewing the child in chambers. Ind. Code section 31-17-5-2(c). Noticeably absent from this list is any type of visitation evaluation or investigation.
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As the trial court acknowledged, the law currently provides no authority for grandparents to request visitation evaluations and this court finds no reason to read Indiana Code section 31-17-2-12 to provide as such. “The cardinal rule of statutory construction is that if a statute is unambiguous, then we need not and cannot interpret it; rather, we must apply its plain and clear meaning.” Vanderburgh Cnty. Election Bd. v. Vanderburgh Cnty. Dem. Cent. Comm., 833 N.E.2d 508, 510 (Ind. Ct. App. 2005). The Indiana Legislature could have added grandparents with visitation rights to the list of individuals eligible to request a parenting time study under Indiana Code section 31-17-2-12; however, it chose not to. Although we cannot know the intent of the legislature, we do not believe this exclusion was unintentional. In other Indiana family law statutes, the legislature has limited the power of the trial court when determining grandparents’ visitation rights, as opposed to rights of a parent or custodian. Indiana Code section 31-17-6-1, the authorizing statute for court appointment of Guardians ad litem and Court Appointed Special Advocates (“CASA”), reads as follows: “A court, in a proceeding under [Indiana Code sections] 31-17-2, [] 31-17-4, this chapter, [] 31-17-7, or [] 31-28-5, may appoint a guardian ad litem, a [CASA], or both, for a child at any time.” The Grandparent Visitation Act, Indiana Code Chapter 31-17-5, was not included, presumably because the legislature did not think it appropriate for courts to have such a potentially burdensome appointment power in cases of grandparent visitation. The Grandparent Visitation Act itself makes no mention of a grandparent’s ability to request or compel a visitation evaluation, or any other evaluation for that matter. Furthermore, the Grandparent Visitation Act has been subject to strict interpretation. “The Grandparent Visitation [Act] was enacted in derogation of the common law, creating rights which had not previously existed. Where a statute creates rights in derogation of the common law, the statute must be strictly construed.” In re Visitation of J.D.G., 756 N.E.2d 509, 512 (Ind. Ct. App. 2001).
Presumably, the legislature does not want grandparent visitation issues to have the potential to escalate into something akin to full blown custody disputes or subject children to psychological evaluations against the wishes of the parent or guardian. To that point, this court has staunchly limited the visitation rights of grandparents, especially when those rights are in conflict with the wishes of a fit parent. See generally In re Visitation of C.L.H., 908 N.E.2d 320, 329 (Ind. Ct. App. 2009) (courts must give special weight to a fit parent’s decision to deny or limit grandparent visitation and grandparents seeking visitation bear the burden of rebutting the presumption that a fit parent’s decision to deny visitation was made in the child’s best interest); In re Visitation of C.S.N., 14 N.E.3d 753 (Ind. Ct. App. 2014) (“because grandparents do not have the legal rights or obligations of parents, they do not possess a constitutional liberty interest in visitation with their grandchildren.”). It is not this court’s place to provide grandparents with a newfound right to request psychological evaluations for their grandchildren against the wishes of the parents. Should the legislature wish to provide grandparents that power, it can do so at any time.
Accordingly, we find that Grandparents did not have standing to petition the trial court for a parenting time evaluation and that the trial court did not have the authority to order such an evaluation sua sponte. Because there was no authority to order the evaluation, we need not address whether the evaluation was in the best interest of the Children. We reverse the portions of the trial court’s March 20, 2014 order concerning the visitation study (Sections 16 through 23). The provisions of the order concerning Grandparents visitation time with the Children are unaffected by this decision.
The judgment of the trial court is reversed.
BARNES, J., and BROWN, J., concur.