Every single state has a law that grants some version of visitation rights to grandparents. These laws also affect the rights of stepparents, foster parents, and other caretakers as well. While there is a substantial amount of variation between each state's laws, these rights were influenced by one U.S. Supreme Court ruling. Read on to get an overview of what child visitation laws mean for grandparents and other caretakers.

There are about twenty states that have restrictive laws on visitation. These are laws that mean that only a grandparent is able to be request visitation rights from a court, and this only in circumstances when a child's parents get a divorce, or if one or both of the child's parents pass away. In these states, parents, even after a divorce, can decide to keep a grandparent from availing themselves of these visitation rights. The laws in most other states, however, grant broader rights. These grant visitation rights to grandparents in other situations if it is in the child's best interests. There are also states other caretakers can be granted visitation rights. This is typically for cases where a caretaker lived in the same household as the child for a specific extent of time. And still, despite a state's laws, it is often up to a court to decide whether or not parents can block these visitation rights, as many parents have successfully argued that granting such visitation rights undermines their rights as parents.

This is a matter that has played out in the U.S. Supreme Court. A case that was first filed in Washington State came before the nation's Supreme Court in 2000, a case called Troxel v. Granville, 530 U.S. 57 (2000). Washington's laws are not restrictive, but a court had ruled against further grandparents' visitation rights in that case. The grandparents already had one non-overnight visit every month and visitation rights on some holidays, and they were requesting more visits. The judge in lower court who had denied this request had still ruled that the grandparents' petition for visitation rights was in a child's best interests, and that it was up to the mother to establish that granting more visits would harm the child.

The Supreme Court sided with that judge in ruling against the grandparents being granted more visits, and the court further ruled as that judge had, that a nonparent caretaker's visitation rights did not violate others' rights or the family unit. But the Supreme Court believed that the ruling was arrived at in the wrong manner. They ruled that placing the burden of proof on the parent interfered with a parent's rights. It was ruled that it was better to assume that a parent was acting in their child's best interests when they tried to block further visitation rights for grandparents.

That was one case. How did this ruling play out across the country? In states with laws like Washington's, with broader, more permissive visitation laws, it is often enough to simply say that visitation rights would help a child maintain a healthy and important relationship, and visitation will be granted by a court. This is essentially unchanged since the Supreme Court case, and this is in large part due to the fact that the mother in the case was not fighting against a grandparent's visitation rights entirely, she was only trying to prevent their request for extra visits. Since this case, many parents have contested the permissive visitation laws in their own state. Other states have changed their laws since Troxel, tweaking it so that courts will start off with assuming that a parent is acting in their child's interests when they fight against a grandparent's (or a caretaker's) visitation rights.

What does this mean for you if you are a grandparent or another nonparent caretaker? This means that visitation rights are undergoing a continuous debate, with courts deciding for and against these rights. There are never guarantees in the field of law, and in this crucial point of family law, outcomes will vary from state to state and from court to court. In the face of this struggle, grandparents or caretakers can ask for mediation with the parents of the child (a requirement in some states). In this way, out of court, you may be able to arrive at the custody and visitation arrangement that is best for the child. Contact an experienced family attorney today to learn more about your rights your state's laws. Find the legal expert you need on our directory today!