Grandparent Visitation

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Grandparent Visitation

Michigan's Grandparent Visitation Law

On January 3, 2005, Governor Granholm signed into law a new grandparent visitation law.  The law creates new rights for grandparents and grandchildren in the State of Michigan to be able to have contact with each other under certain circumstances, when that relationship has been denied by a parent following the death, divorce, children born out of wedlock, or other family dysfunction.

This law will creates rights for grandparents, following the Michigan Supreme Court decision of Derose v. Derose decided July 31, 2003, which held Michigan's old law unconstitutional. In that Michigan Supreme Court decision, the high court instructed the Michigan legislature to redraft Michigan's law.  The new legislation was to include provisions in order to make Michigan's law constitutional so that grandparents and grandchildren would have access to see each other under the above circumstances.

This law provides the safeguards required by the Michigan Supreme Court, which would protect parental rights, as guaranteed by the Constitution, while setting in place standards for grandparents who have been denied seeing their grandchildren.  The law provides grandparents the opportunity to come to court and show why they should have a right to see their grandchildren, if that request has been unreasonably denied.

When does the grandparent have a right to petition the court? 

The new law provides grandparents, in the following circumstances, the right to request relief from the court to seek visitation with their grandchildren, if they have been denied visitation by a parent:

1. If there is a divorce, separate maintenance, or annulment action pending between the child¹s parents, or such an action has already been finalized.
2. The grandchild was born out-of-wedlock and the parents are not living together. However, this only applies, to grandparents of the alleged father if he has been declared legally to be the father of the child by a proper court proceeding and the child's father provides child support in accordance with his ability to provide sup-port or care for his child.
3. Legal custody of the child has been given to a person other than the child's parent or the child does not live in the parent's home (other than a child who has been adopted by a person who is not the child's stepparent).
4. A grandparent has taken care of a grandchild during the year before they request visitation, whether or not they have done so by a valid court order.
5. The child's parent, who is a child of the grandparent, is deceased. If a grandparent falls into any of the above categories and has been denied visitation, they would have a right to bring an action in the court that has heard a prior action (such as a divorce or paternity action). If there has been no prior action filed in the court, then a new action would have to be brought in the circuit court in the county where the grand-child resides. Any person, who has legal custody, or an order for parenting time of the child, must be given notice of the grandparent visitation request.