IN RE D.C

o be granted visitation with their grandchildren over the objections of biological parents living in an intact family. Ibid., (citing N.J.S.A 9:2-7.1 (as amended by L. 1993, c. 161, § 1 (effective June 29, 1993))).

B.

Meanwhile, the social sciences began to investigate the importance of sibling relationships to a child's emotional well-being. As observed recently by Justice Albin in New Jersey Division of Youth Family Services v. S.S.:

The importance of sibling relationships is well recognized by our courts and social science scholars. In L. v. G., the court stated that "[a] sibling relationship can be an independent emotionally supportive factor for children in ways quite distinctive from other relationships, and there are benefits and experiences that a child reaps from a relationship with his or her brother(s) or sister(s) which truly cannot be derived from any other." 203 N.J.Super. 385, 395 [ 497 A.2d 215] (Ch.Div. 1985). According to that court, "[t]he bonds which develop between brothers and sisters are strong ones, and are, in most cases, irreplaceable." Id. at 398 [ 497 A.2d 215]. Some mental health experts believe that the sibling relationship can be "longer lasting and more influential than any other, including those with parents, spouse, or children!,]" and that "[w]hen it is severed, the fallout can last a lifetime." Nat'l Adoption Info. Clearinghouse, The Sibling Bond: Its Importance in Foster Care and Adoptive Placement 1, [2] (1992), [http://64.78.32.155/training/upload/fostercIub_214.pdf]; see also Ellen Marrus, "Where Have You Been, Fran?" The Right of Siblings to Seek Court Access to Override Parental Denial of Visitation, 66 Tenn. L.Rev. 977, 987 (1999) ("[O]ver the course of an entire lifespan, siblings have significant influence on each other's lives. If nurtured and maintained, these relationships can provide emotional security, affect the intellectual, social, emotional, and moral development of one another, and offer lifetime companionship.").

[ 187 N.J. 556 , 560-61, 902 A.2d 215 (2006); see also William Wesley Patton Dr. Sara Latz, Severing Hansel from Gretel: An Analysis of Siblings' Association Rights, 48 U. Miami L.Rev. 745, 761 (1994) ("Brothers and sisters spend more time together and have longer relationships with one another than children have with their parents." (citing Th. Powell P.A. Ogle, Brothers and Sisters: A Special Part of Exceptional Families (1985))).]

The bond between brothers and sisters "is often experienced `viscerally, forcefully, without conscious understanding, but with a sixth sense that this relationship is a vital key to one's own knowledge of one-self.'" Paige Ingram Castaneda, O Brother (or Sister), Where Art Thou: Sibling Standing in Texas, 55 Baylor L.Rev. 749, 773-74 (2003) (quoting Stephen P. Bank Michael D. Kahn, The Sibling Bond 60 (1982)).

Clearly, if sibling bonds are important in healthy families, they are critical to children who experience chaotic circumstances. Indeed, children who have been abused or neglected, or whose families have been ripped apart, face heightened levels of emotional stress and, in such circumstances, they "`learn very early to depend on and cooperate with each other to cope with their common problems.'" ACNJ Special Report, Post-Adoption Sibling Contact: Some Issues to Consider (Sept. 2006), http://www.acnj.org/admin.asp?uri=2081action=15di=863ext=pdf view=yes (quoting The Sibling Bond, supra, at 1-2).

Socially, a sibling often becomes a child's first friend. Furthermore, if the child is not yet of school age, a sibling may also be the only friend. . . . Examining the available sibling research reveals that an adoptive child's separation from biological parents coupled with the loss of his major, or only, source of social support may be extremely traumatic.

[Meghann M. Seifert, Sibling Visitation After Adoption: The Implications Of The Massachusetts Sibling Visitation Statute, 84 B.U. L.Rev. 1467, 1488 (2004) (citations omitted) (emphasis added).]

As a result of that new understanding by social scientists, in 1987 our Legislature added siblings to the Visitation Statute. L. 1987, c. 363, § 2. Initially the Act did not specify the standards to be applied in deciding a visitation application. Assem. B. No. 979/1091 (Statement, Senate Amendments), 205th Leg. 2 (N.J. 1993).

Like our own state, other legislatures and courts across the country have begun to protect sibling relationships as well. See, e.g., Ark. Code Ann. § 9-9 215(c) (2005); 750 ///. Comp. Stat. 5/607(a-3) (2010); Ind. Code Ann. §§ 31-28-5-3 and A (2008); Iowa Code § 232.108 (2007); La. Child. Code Ann. art. 1218(d) (2003); Me. Rev. Stat. Ann. tit. 22 § 4068(2) (2005); Nev. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 125C.050 (2001); N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 169-C:19-II(a) (2008); S.Y. Dom. Rel. Law § 71 (1989); N.Y. Fam. Ct. Act § 1027-a (1990); Ohio Rev. Code Ann. § 3109.051(B) (2005); R.I. Gen. Laws § 15-5-24.4 (1996); Wash. Rev.Code. § 13.34.130(4) (2010); In re Miguel A., 156 Cat.App. 4th 389, 67 Cal.Rptr.id 307, 310-11 (2007); In re Tamara R., 136 Md.App. 236, 764 A.2d 844, 854-56 (2000); Adoption of Lenore, 55 Mass.App.Ct. 275, 770 N.E.2d 498, 506 (2002); Lindsie D.L. v. Richard W. S., 214 W.Va. 750, 591 S.E.2d 308, 315 (2003). But see Va. Code Ann. § 63.2-1215 (2003) (providing that blood relatives "shall, by final order of adoption, be divested of all legal rights and obligations in respect to the child including the right to petition any court for visitation with the child.").

In its present form, the Visitation Statute provides:

a. A grandparent or any sibling of a child residing in this State may make application before the Superior Court, in accordance with the Rules of Court, for an order for visitation. It shall be the burden of the applicant to prove by a preponderance of the evidence that the granting of visitation is in the best interests of the child.

b. In making a determination on an application filed pursuant to this section, the court shall consider the following factors:

(1) The relationship between the child and the applicant;

(2) The relationship between each of the child's parents or the person with whom the child is residing and the applicant;

(3) The time which has elapsed since the child last had contact with the applicant;

(4) The effect that such visitation will have on the relationship between the child and the child's parents or the person with whom the child is residing;

(5) If the parents are divorced or separated, the time sharing arrangement which exists between the parents with regard to the child;

(6) The good faith of the applicant in filing the application;

(7) Any history of physical, emotional or sexual abuse or neglect by the applicant; and

(8) Any other factor relevant to the best interests of the child.

c. With regard to any application made pursuant to this section, it shall be prima facie evidence that visitation is in the child's best interest if the applicant had, in the past, been a full-time caretaker for the child.

[ N.J.S.A. 9:2-7.1 (as amended by L. 1993, c. 161, § 1).]

That statute is important because it reflects a constantly evolving legislative response to changing understandings of social conditions and a recognition that maintaining contacts with third parties, including grandparents and siblings, may, in certain circumstances, be necessary to the emotional health of children.

That is the backdrop for our inquiry.

IV.

We turn first to the issue of sibling visitation after a child is placed outside his home. That is governed by the Child Placement Bill of Rights Act, N.J.S.A 9:6B-1(f). Although the Division divides placement into the periods before and after parental rights are terminated, suggesting that the Child Placement Bill of Rights Act applies to the former and not the latter, the Legislature has made no such distinction. The Child Placement Bill of Rights Act explains the rights of children during the entire placement period. Indeed, the legislative findings that led to the Child Placement Bill of Rights Act declared, in relevant part:

a. A child placed outside his home by the Department of Human Services, the Department of Children and Families, the Department of Health and Senior Services or a board of education, or an agency or organization with which the applicable department contracts to provide services has certain specific rights separate from and independent of the child's parents or legal guardian by virtue of his placement in another residential setting;

b. The Slate has an affirmative obligation to recognize and protect these rights through its articulation of a clear and specific bill of rights that reflects the best interests of the child whereby the safety of the child is of paramount concern and an affirmation by the State of its commitment to enforce these rights in order to protect and promote the welfare of the child placed outside his home[.]

[ N.J.S.A 9:6B-2 (emphasis added).]

Among the rights detailed in the Child Placement Bill of Rights Act are the following:

A child placed outside his home shall have the following rights, consistent with the health, safety and physical and psychological welfare of the child and as appropriate to the individual circumstances of the child's physical or mental development:

d. To the best efforts of the applicable department to place the child in the same setting with the child's sibling if the sibling is also being placed outside his home;

f. To visit with the child's sibling on a regular basis and to otherwise maintain contact with the child's sibling if the child was separated from his sibling upon placement outside his home, including the provision or arrangement of transportation as necessary [.]

[ N.J.S.A 9:6B-2 (emphasis added).]

The requirements of paragraph (f) have been viewed as expressive of the Legislature's intent "to assist in the micro-management of sibling visits" because they are so important. William Wesley Patton, The Status of Siblings' Rights: A View into the New Millennium, 51 DePaul L.Rev. 1, 21 (2001).

The purposes underlying the Child Placement Bill of Rights Act include ensuring that (1) the "best efforts to be able to remain with siblings" are taken and that (2) "regular visits with siblings" are afforded to every child placed outside the home. Assem. Judiciary, Law Pub. Safety Comm., Statement to Assem. B. No. 1210, 204th Leg. 1 (N.J. 1991) (emphasis added). Plainly, the Child Placement Bill of Rights Act does not eliminate those requirements upon termination of parental rights. Rather, the Legislature chose not to fractionalize the placement period into pre and post-termination because it recognized that there is nothing about the legal act of termination, in itself, that magically alters the child's day-to-day life or that would justify cutting off preexisting sibling contact. More importantly, by devolving an "affirmative obligation" on the Division to nurture sibling relationships during the entire placement period, the Legislature ensured a continuity of support for the child from the beginning to the end of his odyssey. Indeed, the Child Placement Bill of Rights Act makes maintenance of sibling contact a responsibility. That responsibility inheres even after pre-adoptive placement, which may or may not come to fruition. It is not an option. When the Division removes a child from his home, its obligation to nurture sibling bonds exists whether or not a sibling has initiated the process and whether or not termination has occurred.

The Division's own regulations underscore that duty. See, e.g., N.J.AC. 10:122D-1.1 to -1.15 (setting forth regulations governing development of visitation plan); N.J. Div. of Youth Family Servs. v. N.J., 412 N.J.Super. 357, 363-64, 990 A.2d 712 (App.Div. 2010) (discussing DYFS's promulgation of administrative regulations pursuant to "its responsibilities under the [Child Placement Bill of Rights] Act, . . . `to ensure that each child' placed out-of-home has the opportunity to visit with siblings, so as to reinforce the' child's identity and maintain family relationships, among other things." (quoting N.J.A.C. 10:122D-1.1(a))). The regulations note that sibling visitation "may serve to: 1. Reinforce the child's identity; 2. Promote the child's need for stability, consistency, and permanency; [and] 3. Maintain or establish family relationships. . . ." N.J.A.C. 10:122D-1.1.

The Division's responsibility to keep siblings together and, if that is not possible, to ensure visitation is also contained in the DYFS II Field Operations Casework Policy and Procedures Manual (DYFS II Manual), which promotes sibling visitation if the Division is unable to keep siblings placed outside of the home together. S.S., supra, 187 N.J. at 561, 902 A.2d 215; see also N.J., supra, 412 N.J.Super. at 363-64, 990 A.2d 712 (quoting DYFS II Manual § 1504). As the manual acknowledges, the reason for including visitation in the placement plan developed for each child placed outside of the home "is that `[maintaining contact with brothers and sisters supports the child's identity and links him to his past'" N.J., supra, 412 N.J.Super. at 364, 990 A.2d 712 (quoting DYFS II Manual § 1504). Even when actual visitation is not feasible, the manual promotes contact through other means, including letters and telephone calls. N.J., supra, 412 N.J.Super. at 364, 990 A.2d 712.

Although the Visitation Statute generally casts the obligation on a third party seeking visitation to prove entitlement by a preponderance of the evidence, the Child Placement Bill of Rights Act alters that landscape in connection with siblings in the placement setting. Under the Child Placement Bill of Rights Act, the Division is obliged, on its own and even in the absence of an application by a sibling, to insure and facilitate such visitation under N.J.S.A 9:6B-4(f), up until the time that an adoption is finalized.

It follows that, in a case in which the siblings of a child in placement seek visitation with that child, such visitation is the presumptive state of affairs. If the Division opposes visitation, it bears the burden of going forward with evidence to overcome the presumption. That evidence must address the standards provided in the Child Placement Bill of Rights Act. In particular, the Division is required to show that visitation would be inconsistent "with the health, safety, and physical and psychological welfare of the child" and is inappropriate "to the individual circumstances of the child's physical or mental development." N.J.S.A. 9:6B-4. It goes without saying that a foster family's disinclination to be involved in sibling visitation would not satisfy that standard; indeed, it is not even a relevant factor.

As far as we can tell from this meager record, the Division failed to live up to its obligations under the Child Placement Bill of Rights Act. Indeed, it did little to encourage visitation between Nellie and Hugo and the twins. For example, in April 2007, when Nellie requested visitation on weekends because of her work schedule and Hugo's school obligations, it took the Division more than three months to arrange a meeting. Although, by all accounts, that visit went well, no follow-up was scheduled and, in January 2008, the Division denied visitation outright when it rejected Nellie as a kinship placement candidate, although that is not a disqualifier in the statutes. Later, it refused further contact between the siblings because the foster mother was "no longer willing to facilitate visitation," despite its own obligations under the Child Placement Bill of Rights Act.

Essentially, the Division treated this case as a zero-sum game in which the bond between the foster mother and the twins somehow negated any sibling bond, such that no bonding evaluation of the siblings ever took place. Indeed, the Division never even considered whether Hugo's connection to the twins was important to him, although he was a minor child placed by the Division outside his home. Moreover, the Division apparently believed, incorrectly, that at the point at which Ms. Carson's parental rights were terminated, its own obligations under the Child Placement Bill of Rights Act ceased. Further, it seemed to view the rejection of Nellie as a kinship legal guardian for the twins as separately triggering a bar to visitation, again contrary to the statutes. Finally, it improperly ceded its decision-making obligations to the foster mother when she opted to withdraw her cooperation with respect to visitation.

More importantly, in court the Division presented little or no evidence bearing on the factors deemed relevant in the Child Placement Bill of Rights Act or the Visitation Statute, thus leaving the trial judge with no basis on which to support a denial of visitation in the interim period prior to adoption, save her wrong notion that the Division and the foster mother had absolute hegemony over the issue.

As we have noted, at the Division's urging, during the period in which the foster mother was cooperating with visitation, the trial judge relieved the Division of any financial or supervisory obligations in direct contravention of the Child Placement Bill of Rights Act, N.J.S.A. 9:6B-4(f).

The tragedy that flowed from the Division's lackadaisical, and later hostile, attitude toward sibling visitation was that it created a further justification for refusing to consider Nellie as a custodian. Indeed, the Division argued that too much time had elapsed since the siblings had contact; no bond had formed between the siblings; and the bond with the foster mother had deepened. Because Nellie has given up her pursuit of custodial rights to the twins, that issue is not before us. We nevertheless express our disapproval of the way in which the matter was handled during the placement period because it stacked the deck against Nellie's quest for custody.

V.

The adoption of the twins is imminent; we therefore turn to the issue of whether Nellie and Hugo have a right to petition for visitation with the twins after the adoption. We begin by distilling the parties' arguments on that subject to their essence. Nellie contends that the importance of sibling relationships is well established; that, where it is necessary to a child's emotional health, such visitation must be permitted even over the adoptive mother's objection; and that there is nothing in our prior jurisprudence that would preclude a post-adoption visitation order under proper circumstances.

The Division counters that adoptive parents are entitled to all of the protections provided to a biological family, including the right to reject sibling visitation; that our prior decision in In re Adoption of a Child by W.P., 163 N.J. 158, 748 A.2d 515 (2000), laid the issue of post-adoption visitation to rest; that forced post-adoption visitation will chill prospective adoptions in New Jersey; and, finally, that even if in some extraordinary cases, compelled post-adoption visitation will be necessary, the facts of this case do not justify such an action. We think that Nellie has the better of the arguments.

A.

The notion that parents have a right to autonomy in deciding how to rear their children has deep roots in our history and culture. Moriarty, supra, 177 N.J. at 101, 827 A.2d 203. Indeed, that right, which flows out of privacy concerns, has been denominated as a fundamental liberty interest entitled to constitutional protection. Wisconsin v. Yoder, 406 U.S. 205, 232-33, 92 S.Ct 1526, 1541-42, 32 L.Ed 2d 15, 35 (1972) (describing primary role of parents in childrearing as "enduring American tradition"); Prince v. Massachusetts, 321 U.S. 158, 166, 64 S.Ct. 438, 442, 88 L.Ed 645, 652 (1944) (noting "private realm of family life which the state cannot enter"); V.C. v. M.J.B., 163 N.J. 200, 218, 748 A.2d 539, cert. denied, 531 U.S. 926, 121 S.Ct 302, 148 L.Ed.2d 243 (2000) (attributing right of legal parent to care and custody of child to notion of privacy). In short, the primary role of parents in the upbringing of their children is clear beyond cavil both in federal jurisprudence, Stanley v. Illinois, 405 U.S. 645, 651, 92 S.Ct. 1208, 1212-13, 31 L.Ed.2d 551, 558-59 (1972), and in our own case law, V.C., supra, 163 N.J. at 217-18, 748 A.2d 539; Watkins v. Nelson, 163 N.J. 235, 245, 748 A.2d 558 (2000); In the Matter of the Guardianship of K.H.O., 161 N.J. 337, 346, 736 A.2d 1246 (1999).

B.

However, the constitutional right to family integrity is not absolute. Prince, supra, 321 U.S. at 166-67, 64 S.Ct at 442, 88 L.Ed at 652-53; V.C., supra, 163 N.J. at 218, 748 A.2d 539.

Thus, for example, our courts have overridden the desires of parents who refused to consent to medical treatment and ordered such treatment to save a child's life. See Parham v. J.R., 442 U.S. 584, 603, 99 S.Ct. 2493, 2504, 61 L.Ed.2d 101, 119 (1979) ("Nonetheless, we have recognized that a state is not without constitutional control over parental discretion in dealing with children when their physical or mental health is jeopardized." (citations omitted)); Prince, supra, 321 U.S. at 166-67, 64 S.Ct. at 442, 88 L.Ed, at 652-53 (noting that state, as parens patriae, can intrude on parental autonomy to protect child from ill health or death); Jehovah's Witnesses v. King County Hasp. Unit No. 1, 278 F.Supp. 488, 498-99, 504-05 (W.D.Wash. 1967) (holding Washington State statute that declared children to be dependents of state for purpose of authorizing blood transfusions against expressed wishes of parents was constitutional), affd, 390 U.S. 598, 88 S.Ct. 1260, 20 L.Ed.2d 158 (1968) (per curiam); State v. Perricone, 37 N.J. 463, 474, 181 A.2d 751 (finding state may act under its parens patriae authority to protect child's welfare by declaring him or her neglected to obtain necessary medical treatment), cert. denied, 371 U.S. 890, 83 S.Ct 189, 9 L.Ed.2d 124 (1962); Muhlenberg Hasp. v. Patterson, 128 N.J.Super. 498, 503, 320 A.2d 518 (Law Div. 1974) (ordering blood transfusion to infant over parents' wishes).

[ Fawzy v. Fawzy, 199 N.J. 456, 474, 973 A.2d 347 (2009) (quoting Moriarty, supra, 177 N.J. at 102-03, 827 A.2d 203); see also Hojnowski v. Vans Skate Park, 187 N.J. 323, 901 A.2d 381 (2006) (invoking parens patriae doctrine to invalidate exculpatory waiver executed by parent on behalf of minor child).]

"Indeed, the state has an obligation, under the parens patriae doctrine, to intervene where it is necessary to prevent harm to a child." Fawzy, supra, 199 N.J. at 474-75, 973 A.2d 347 (footnote omitted) (citations omitted).

C.

Under the New Jersey Adoption Act, N.J.S.A 9:3-37 to -56 (Adoption Act), "[t]he entry of a judgment of adoption shall establish the same relationships, rights, and responsibilities between the child and the adopting parent as if the child were born to the adopting parent in lawful wedlock." N.J.S.A. 9:3-50 b (as amended by L. 1993, c. 345, § 13). The purpose of the Adoption Act is to grant the adoptive family the same rights as a biological family and to recognize that entity as a new family unit, entitled to all of the protections afforded a biological family. "[A]fter a final judgment of adoption, the adoptive parents are, in the eyes of the law, the parents of that child[.]" In re Adoption of Child of Indian Heritage, 111 N.J 155, 184, 543 A.2d 925 (1988). "[A]n adoptive [mother] . . . is `for every purpose and from every perspective and in any terms save blood as much the maternal parent to the child as is any other mother to her daughter.'" W.P., supra, 163 N.J. at 175-76, 748 A.2d 515 (quoting Mimkon, supra, 66 N.J. at 441, 332 A.2d 199).

In other words, because adoptive families stand in the shoes of biological families, the Division correctly argues that they have the same right to family privacy and autonomy as the latter. However, an adoptive family is not entitled to greater protections than a biological family. Thus, to the extent that visitation by a third party may be compelled over the objections of a biological family, the same rule applies to an adoptive family.

VI.

A recap of our relevant case law is instructive here. In W.P., on which the Division relies for the proposition that adoptive families are immune from the operation of the Visitation Statute, we were faced with application by grandparents whose grandchild had been adopted by non-relatives who objected to continued contact between the grandparents and the children. W.P., supra, 163 N.J. at 160, 748 A.2d 515. In ruling, we looked to the history of the Adoption Act and the Legislature's failure to enact an open adoption statute and concluded that "the Legislature did not intend the [Visitation Statute] to apply to situations where the child is adopted by nonrelative adoptive parents[,]" and thus to subject the adoptive parents to a "best interests" hearing. Id. at 171, 748 A.2d 515. Critical to our reasoning in W.P. was our desire not to "relegate the adoptive parents to `second-class status.'" Id. at 175, 748 A.2d 515 (quoting Mimkon, supra, 66 N.J. at 441, 332 A.2d 199 (Clifford, J., dissenting)). In other words, because we recognized that a biological family could not be forced to permit a third-party access to its child based on a "best interests" analysis, we afforded adoptive families the same protection.

On the same day that we decided W.P., we also decided Watkins and V.C., two cases that shed light on the subject before us. In Watkins, we addressed a struggle over custody between the parents of the deceased mother of a three-and-one-half-year-old child and the child's biological father. 163 N.J. at 237, 748 A.2d 558. The Appellate Division, applying a best interests standard, ruled in favor of the child's maternal grandparents. Id. at 241, 748 A.2d 558. We reversed, based on our conclusion that the application of the best interests standard violated the fundamental right of the father to family autonomy. Id. at 243-44, 748 A.2d 558. In ruling, Justice Coleman, speaking for the Court, reaffirmed the fundamental "right of natural parents to the custody, care and nurturing of their children":

Since the right of parents to the custody of their minor children is both a natural and legal right, the law should not disturb the parent/child relationship except for the strongest reasons and only upon a clear showing of a parent's gross misconduct or unfitness or of other extraordinary circumstances affecting the welfare of the child.

[ Id. at 245, 748 A.2d 558 (quoting In re D.T., 200 N.J.Super. 171, 176-77, 491 A.2d 7 (App.Div. 1985)).]

He went on:

The principle that a showing of gross misconduct, unfitness, neglect, or "exceptional circumstances" affecting the welfare of the child will overcome this presumption, is a recognition that a parent's right to custody is not absolute. That parental right must, at times, give way to the State's parens patriae obligation to ensure that children will be properly protected from serious physical or psychological harm. In re Guardianship of K.H.O., 161 N.J. 337, 347 [ 736 A.2d 1246] (1999); In re Guardianship of J.C, 129 N.J. 1, 10 [ 608 A.2d 1312] (1992). This has been our law for more than a century. As early as 1889, the highest Court in this State allowed the presumption in favor of a natural parent to be overcome by a showing of "exceptional circumstances." Richards v. Collins, 45 N.J.Eq. 283 [17 A 831] (E. A. 1889).

[ Watkins, supra, 163 N.J. at 246, 748 A.2d 558.]

Importantly, in distinguishing between best interests and the proper standard — gross misconduct, unfitness, or "exceptional circumstances — the Court observed:

A significant difference between the child's best interests test and the parental termination or "exceptional circumstances" standard is that the former does not always require proof of harm to the child. In contrast, the latter always requires proof of serious physical or psychological harm or a substantial likelihood of such harm.

[ Id. at 248, 748 A.2d 558.]

Put another way, in Watkins we recognized, as we had in W.P., that permitting third-party contact with a child over the objections of the parents based on a best-interests standard is an unwarranted incursion on the fundamental right of the parents to raise then-children as they see fit. At the same time, however, we spoke directly to a matter not raised in W.P. — that the particular facts of a case could require us to exercise our parens patriae jurisdiction and permit third-party contact with a child over his biological parents' objection in order to protect the child from harm.

The same theme was sounded in V.C., in which the plaintiff and defendant lived together as same-sex partners. 163 N.J. at 205, 748 A.2d 539. The defendant was the biological parent of the minor twins, who had been conceived by artificial means while the parties were together. Id. at 206-07, 748 A.2d 539. The plaintiff and defendant lived in a familial setting with the children, who viewed them both as parents. Id. at 207, 748 A.2d 539. When they broke up, defendant objected to plaintiffs continued contact with the children, claiming that parental autonomy entitled her to bar the plaintiff, whom she denominated as a third party, from intruding into her family's life. Id. at 214, 748 A.2d 539. As we had in Watkins, we invoked the extraordinary circumstances doctrine to justify the exercise of our intervention on parens patriae grounds to avoid harm to the children. Because the plaintiff had functioned as a psychological parent to the children and because we recognized "that children have a strong interest in maintaining the ties that connect them to adults who love and provide for them[,]" id. at 221, 748 A.2d 539, we exercised our parens patriae jurisdiction, affirming the Appellate Division's order denying the plaintiff joint legal custody but granting her continued contact with the children through visitation. Id. at 229-30, 748 A.2d 539.

We adopted the same standard in Moriarty, supra, 177 N.J. 84, 827 A.2d 203, in order to save the Visitation Statute from constitutional infirmity. That case involved an application by grandparents for visitation with their grandchildren (the offspring of their deceased daughter) over the objection of the children's father. Acknowledging the constitutional imperative of family autonomy, we held that the best interest standard would constitute an incursion on that autonomy and recognized that "grandparents seeking visitation under the statute must prove by a preponderance of the evidence that denial of the visitation they seek would result in harm to the child." Id. at 88, 827 A.2d 203.

We concluded:

[T]hat the only state interest warranting the invocation of the State's parens patriae jurisdiction to overcome the presumption in favor of a parent's decision and to force grandparent visitation over the wishes of a fit parent is the avoidance of harm to the child. When no harm threatens a child's welfare, the State lacks a sufficiently compelling justification for the infringement on the fundamental right of parents to raise their children as they see fit. However, when harm is proved and the presumption in favor of a fit parent's decision making is overcome, the court must decide the issue of an appropriate visitation schedule based on the child's best interests.

[ Id. at 115, 827 A.2d 203; see also In re Adoption of a Child by D.M.H., 135 N.J. 473, 495, 641 A.2d 235, cert denied sub nom., Hollingshead v. Hoxworth, 513 U.S. 967, 115 S.Ct 433, 130 L.Ed.2d 345 (1994) (citing In re Guardianship of J.C., 129 N.J. 1, 26, 608 A.2d 1312 (1992) as recognizing that to avoid harm to child some public-agency adoptions may require continued contact with natural parents).]

The foregoing authority, including W.P., constitutes a seamless expression of the principle that the application of the best interests standard to a third party's petition for visitation is an affront to the family's right to privacy and autonomy and that interference with a biological or adoptive family's decision-making can only be justified on the basis of the exercise of our parens patriae jurisdiction to avoid harm to the child.

Under those rulings, siblings can petition for visitation with their brothers and sisters who have been adopted by non-relatives, subject to the avoidance of harm standard. We can envision, for example, a case in which preteen siblings, raised together in the same household, deeply entwined in each other's lives, are removed due to abuse or neglect. If one is adopted by a non-relative and the other taken in by his grandmother, it seems likely to us that denial of the sibling's application to visit his adopted brother would satisfy the harm threshold. To the contrary, it is less clear that siblings separated at birth and raised in different households with no interaction whatsoever would be able to vault the threshold.

Obviously, the analysis is a fact-intensive one in which the sibling "bear[s] the burden of establishing by a preponderance of the evidence that visitation is necessary to avoid harm to the child." Moriarty, supra, 177 N.J. at 117, 827 A.2d 203. Any evidence, expert or factual, that bears on the question of harm to the child should be admitted. It is for the trial judge to determine whether the burden has been satisfied. "If the court agrees that the potential for harm has been shown, the presumption in favor of parental decision making will be deemed overcome." Ibid. At that point, if the adoptive family offers a satisfactory visitation schedule, the case will be over. "If not, a second step will be undertaken — an assessment of the schedule." Ibid. In that respect, the court should impose a schedule that it finds is in the child's best interests, Watkins, supra, 163 N.J. at 238, 748 A.2d 558, "based on the application of the statutory factors." Moriarty, supra, 177 N.J. at 117, 827 A.2d 203 (citing N.J.S.A 9:2-7.1 (listing statutory factors); Watkins, supra, 163 N.J. at 254, 748 A.2d 558).

VII.

That brings us to this case. Although the application of the avoidance of harm standard to a sibling's quest for visitation is well established in our prior jurisprudence, the courts below did not approach the case that way, at once viewing W.P. too narrowly and the power of the adoptive family and the Division too broadly. To be sure, Nellie will have an uphill battle to prove by a preponderance of evidence that denial of visitation would result in harm to the twins because of the time that has elapsed without contact, through no fault of her own. Nevertheless she should have a chance to do so. We therefore remand the matter for an expedited evidentiary hearing at which Nellie will have the opportunity to demonstrate by expert and factual evidence that the twins would suffer harm if denied visitation with her and Hugo.

Obviously, if for any reason the adoption is not consummated, the principles we set forth in Part IV will apply.

Among the relevant issues will be whether Nellie was ever a full-time caretaker of the twins as contemplated by the Visitation Statute and what relationship, if any, was enjoyed by Hugo and the twins with whom he visited regularly while he was in a group home. Indeed, no bonding assessment of Nellie, Hugo, and the twins ever took place, nor was any consideration given to the effect of a denial of visitation on Nellie and Hugo.

Moreover, we do not know what has happened to the parties since the lower courts' orders. Has any visitation occurred? Have the siblings been permitted telephone calls, letters, or e-mail? In short, we remand the matter because this record is an inadequate vehicle for us to determine the life-altering issue of whether the twins would be harmed by severance of visitation with Nellie and Hugo. The hearing we have ordered should be held without delay.

VIII.

One final note. This opinion should not be viewed as an incursion on the deeply-embedded right of fit parents, biological or adoptive, to raise their children without outside interference. That right is well-established, Yoder, supra, 406 U.S. 205, 92 S.Ct. 1526, 32 L.Ed.2d 15, and the parens patriae exception that has been recognized for over half a century, Prince, supra, 321 U.S. 158, 64 S.Ct. 438, 442, 88 L.Ed. 645, is narrowly tailored to avoid harm to the child.

The standard is a stringent one, Moriarty, supra, 177 N.J. at 113, 827 A.2d 203, that cannot likely be satisfied by siblings who have had no connection to each other or by those whose bonds are flaccid, or worse, toxic. Moreover, we note that the application of the harm standard to permit grandparent visitation over the objection of biological families has not opened the floodgates of litigation. Indeed, in the seven years since Moriarty, not a single reported or unreported opinion has issued on that subject. We take it from that state of affairs that if there are legitimate requests for visitation, parties are resolving them amicably, all the while keeping in mind what is best for the affected children.

More importantly, we credit families who engage in the unique, altruistic act of adoption with more perseverance than does the Division. Indeed, the desire to become a parent has deep emotional roots and it seems doubtful to us that families who have committed to adoption would simply drop out of the queue due to the possibility of non-harmful sibling visitation.

In that connection, persons who adopt older children obviously understand that the adoptee is not an empty slate. Like all of us, the child is the agglomeration of all the relationships and happenstances, good or bad, of his or her lifetime. There is simply no use in pretending that a deep bond between siblings who have been adopted does not exist.

Moreover, potential adoptive families are aware that, under the best of circumstances, adopted children experience more emotional stressors than their non-adopted peers. See, e.g., David Brodzinsky, Long-Term Outcomes in Adoption, 3 Future of Children 153, 162 (1993). "[A]s a group they are more vulnerable to various emotional, behavioral, and academic problems than their non-adopted peers living in intact homes with their biological parents." Id. at 153.

It is that vulnerability that has paved the way for the continuing debate on whether adoptees should be permitted to know their biological parents' names and to contact them. See S. 799, 214th Leg. (N.J. 2010); S. 1399, 214th Leg. (N.J. 2010); Assem. B. No. 1406, 214th Leg. (N.J. 2010).

With that as a given, it is hard for us to imagine an adoptive family's objection to a child continuing an emotionally sustaining relationship with a sibling who presents no negative safety or influence issues. In reality, those are the only siblings who have the potential to vault the harm threshold.

To be sure, such parents will be denied some measure of power over their children's associations as would be the case in a biological family. We view that diminution of parental autonomy as a proper exchange for the protection of the child under our constitutional parens patriae jurisdiction.

IX.

The judgment of the Appellate Division is reversed. The matter is remanded for proceedings consistent with the principles to which we have adverted.

For reversal and remandment — Chief Justice RABNER and Justices LONG, LaVECCHIA, ALBIN, WALLACE, RIVERA-SOTO and HOENS"7.

Opposed"None.