Ariel Winter's guardianship going to trial

The battle for guardianship of teenage actress Ariel Winter is set to go to trial later this year (13).

The Modern Family star's mom Chrystal Workman was stripped of her parental rights in October (12) after the 15 year old claimed she was being physically and emotionally abused by her parent.

Her 34-year-old sister Shanelle Gray was handed temporary custody and Winter recently insisted she had been enjoying "more of a family life" since moving in with her older sibling and her husband.

Workman has been fighting to regain guardianship of the teen and the case returned to court on Friday (29Mar13), when she asked a judge to force the actress to attend joint therapy sessions in a bid to repair their fractured relationship.

The motion was rejected by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michael Levanas, who insisted it was up to the family counsellor, "who knows how to put families back together", to decide when it was time to set up the big meeting, as Winter has reportedly been refusing to reconcile with her estranged mom.

He told Workman, "It's a work in progress... There's been no advancement in terms of reunification."

Judge Levanas then scheduled the case to go to trial this October (13), much to Workman's dissatisfaction, reports Eonline.com.

Gray's lawyer Michael Kretzner reveals his client is open to settling the case out of court, although she is willing to take care of Winter for as long as necessary.

He says, "We are still hopeful that all parties come to an agreement without further litigation. The litigation for mother and daughter is stressful and expensive. Ariel would like to get on with her acting career."