grandparents rights by state

September 26, 2011

The risk of losing our grandparents rights

I think most people would agree when we look back at our own childhoods that Grandma and Grandad play a very important role in our lives, especially if they live close by and they are in regular contact. Suddenly removing this bond can be devastating to the grandchild and throw the grandparents into emotional turmoil. This situation can suddenly come about for many reasons and because of this every case has to be treated individually. Grandparents rights are dealt with […]
August 22, 2011

What are grandparents rights in South Carolina?

In the state of South Carolina, the courts have the power to order grandparents visitation if a parent is deceased or if parents are divorced or living separately. As in all of the 50 states, the court must find that visitation would be in the best interests of the child. In addition, the court must find that visitation would not interfere with the parent-child relationship. The court is also directed to consider the nature of the relationship between the child […]
August 8, 2011

Grandparents rights in Wisconsin: a victory in court

Grandparents rights in Wisconsin have been upheld due to a recent court case. The Wisconsin Court of Appeals has clarified that when Wisconsin’s “special grandparent visitation provision” applies, petitioning grandparents need not show a “significant triggering event” occurred in order to seek visitation rights of a nonmarital grandchild. You can see the details of the case here. The case is one of many across the country where grandparents rights are winning small victories or losing small defeats due to the […]
July 11, 2011

Grandparents rights in different states

One of the most perplexing problems with grandparents rights is that they vary greatly depending upon what state court system you are dealing with. At the most basic level, all states require grandparents to prove that the visits they seek are in the best interest of the grandchild. This generally means grandparents must show that their visits won’t be harmful in any way, and that they aren’t abusive or otherwise dangerous to the child. Beyond this initial hurdle, each state […]
June 28, 2011

Grandparents rights in Connecticut examined by task force

A new state law in Connecticut has established a task force to study grandparents’ visitation rights with their grandchildren. The laws in Connecticut and many states give parents’ views the top priority in most circumstances in deciding whether to allow contact. Some grandparents want the laws updated so they have more chance to argue in court for visitation. You can read more about these issues here: Why you need to know your grandparents rights Grandparents visitation and custody rights it […]
June 21, 2011

Grandparents rights in Tennessee could be approved

Tennessee judges may soon have legal authority to grant visitation rights to grandparents fighting to see their grandchildren and that’s a first for the state. Both the House and the Senate passed the grandparents rights bill. It now sits on Governor Haslam’s desk. It’s sponsored by Johnson City Republican Senator Rusty Crowe. Among other things, the measure calls for the court to consider whether parents are depriving a grandparent of the chance to visit a child. Check out this video […]
June 11, 2011

Grandparents raising grandchildren

Grandparents raising grandchildren has become a very common factor and it seems that there are many more grandparents taking on the role of parent to their grandchildren and this puts many grandparents in a funny situation. It may be complicated to determine what your grandparents rights, but you need to find out what you can do as a grandparent and there may be some specific situations where you will be in some trouble if you do not have specific rights […]
May 20, 2011

Governor signs new Kansas grandparents rights bill into law

Gov. Sam Brownback has signed a new Kansas grandparents rights bill into law, in an effort to give grandparents more rights in child-in-need-of-care cases. The House Substitute for Senate Bill 23, which expands grandparents rights to take over parenting when their children are deemed unfit parents, was signed by Brownback earlier this month. The bill gives grandparents automatic standing in court in child-in-need-of-care cases. Without automatic standing as interested parties, grandparents are not necessarily sent notice of proceedings involving their […]
February 25, 2011

State to state differences in grandparents rights

Trying to figure out what grandparents rights actually are is hard enough, but here in the USA we have to grapple with the fact that every state does things a little different. There is no national uniformity on these issues and every year we see state court challenges, some that side with the proponents of grandparents rights and some that do not. Unfortunately, laws regarding things like grandparents visitation rights and grandparents custody issues are not uniform, and much depends […]