Lawrence Watkins, Jr., Plaintiff-Appellant v. Beverly Nelson and Kevin M. Nelson, Defendants-Respondents

Summary

The Supreme Court of New Jersey reversed the Appellate Division, holding that the proper standard in a custody dispute between a surviving biological father and third‑party grandparents after the death of the custodial mother is a statutory presumption favoring the parent, rebuttable only by proof of unfitness, abandonment, gross misconduct, or exceptional circumstances; consequently custody must be transferred to the father with visitation for the grandparents.