A third-party “psychological” parent does not have the same autonomy as the child’s legal parents did before ceding custody, a state appeals court said Friday in a precedential decision.

An applicant for visitation need only prove it is in the child’s best interests, and need not satisfy the higher avoidance-of-harm standard, the Appellate Division said in Tortorice v. Vanartsdalen, A-4260-09.