J-S03016-23 2023 PA Super 135 MARIA ESTELA VILLEGAS RIVAS : IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF : PENNSYLVANIA Appellant : : : v. : : : JUANNA DAYEL VILLEGAS AND : No. 2517 EDA 2022 MARVIN DAVID LANDAVERDE : Appeal from the Order Entered September 7, 2022 In the Court of Common Pleas of Chester County Civil Division at No(s): 2022-04171-CU BEFORE: BOWES, J., McCAFFERY, J., and SULLIVAN, J. OPINION BY McCAFFERY, J.: FILED JULY 27, 2023 Maria Estela Villegas Rivas (Grandmother) appeals from the order denying her petition for special relief pursuant to Pennsylvania Rule of Civil Procedure 1915.131 and its local rule counterpart, Chester County Rule of Civil Procedure 1915.13.A. In the petition, Grandmother sought the issuance of an order containing specific findings of fact regarding her daughter’s minor child ____________________________________________ 1 Rule 1915.13 provides: At any time after commencement of the action, the court may on application or its own motion grant appropriate interim or special relief. The relief may include, but is not limited to, the award of temporary legal or physical custody; the issuance of appropriate process directing that a child or a party or person having physical custody of a child be brought before the court; and a direction that a person post security to appear with the child when directed by the court or to comply with any order of the court. Pa.R.C.P. 1915.13. J-S03016-23 (Child or the Child), which would permit Child to apply for special immigrant juvenile status (SIJ) under federal law. For the following reasons, we vacate and remand. I. Facts & Procedural History Child was born in January 2007 and lived in El Salvador with her mother, Juanna Dayel Villegas (Mother), until November 2021.2 See N.T., 8/19/22, at 16; Grandmother’s Complaint For Custody (Custody Complaint), 6/15/22, at 1-2 (unpaginated). It is unclear from the record whether Mother and Child’s father, Marvin David Landaverde (Father), were ever married, but they are no longer in a relationship. See N.T. at 10-11. Child also indicated she no longer has communication with Father. Id. at 16. In November 2021, Child moved to the United States to live with Grandmother and her husband, who presently reside in Chester County, Pennsylvania. See Custody Complaint at 2 (unpaginated). Grandmother paid for Child’s travel expenses. See N.T. at 12. A. Custody Complaint On June 15, 2022, Grandmother filed a complaint, seeking sole physical and legal custody of Child. See Custody Complaint at 1.3 That same day, ____________________________________________ 2 Child also shared the home with her maternal great-grandmother and three siblings. See N.T. at 12, 15. 3 In the complaint, Grandmother alleged, in relevant part: (Footnote Continued Next Page) -2- J-S03016-23 Grandmother also filed a petition for special relief, alleging: (1) Child was under the age of 18 and unmarried; (2) Child had resided with Grandmother for the past six months in the United States; (3) Father is in El Salvador and no longer involved in Child’s life; (4) Child had lived with Mother in El Salvador for the …
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