Opinion
A22D0388
05-23-2022
IN THE INTEREST OF D. M. P., A CHILD (GRANDMOTHER).
The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:
In April 2021, the juvenile court entered an order terminating the parental rights of Anthony Pinasco to the minor child D. M. P. Lois Pinasco, the paternal grandmother of the child, had previously filed in the case a motion to intervene for grandparent visitation. The court granted Lois's motion to intervene, but, following the termination of Anthony's parental rights and a hearing on Lois's motion for grandparent visitation, the court denied the motion for grandparent visitation. Lois filed this application for discretionary appeal.
Under OCGA § 5-6-34 (a) (11), "[a]ll judgments or orders in child custody cases awarding, refusing to change, or modifying child custody" are directly appealable. Thus, the juvenile court's order here is directly appealable. Id.; see Cohen v. Cohen, 300 Ga.App. 7, 8 (1) (684 S.E.2d 94) (2009); Taylor v. Curl, 298 Ga.App. 45, 45 (679 S.E.2d 80) (2009). Under Georgia law, "[v]isitation is considered a custody issue." Daniels v. Barnes, 289 Ga.App. 897, 899 n. 1 (658 S.E.2d 472) (2008); see also OCGA § 19-9-41 (4) (defining "child custody proceeding" as "a proceeding in which legal custody, physical custody, or visitation with respect to a child is in issue"). Thus, the order Lois seeks to appeal is directly appealable.
This Court will grant an otherwise timely discretionary application if the lower court's order is subject to direct appeal. See OCGA § 5-6-35 (j). Accordingly, this application is hereby GRANTED. Lois shall have ten days from the date of this order to file a notice of appeal with the trial court. The clerk of the trial court is DIRECTED to include a copy of this order in the record transmitted to the Court of Appeals.