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Grandparent Visitation
Do Grandparents have Visitation Rights?
Grandparents in Georgia do not have any visitation
rights with their grandchildren until and unless the court grants them such
rights. Pursuant to O.C.G.A. § 19-7-3, a grandparent in Georgia has a right to
file a lawsuit for visitation rights with his or her grandchildren if the
parents of the minor children are separated. Further, a grandparent has a right
to intervene in pending custody cases and seek visitation rights with his or
her grandchildren. The grandparent must show, by clear and convincing evidence,
that the minor children's health or welfare would be harmed unless the
visitation is granted and that such visitation is in the minor children's best
interests.
How is Grandparent Visitation Determined?
Upon the grandparents' filing of a visitation action or intervention, the court may choose to grant reasonable visitation rights to the grandparents if the court finds by clear and convincing evidence that the health or welfare of the child would be harmed unless such visitation is granted and if the best interests of the child would be served by such visitation.
The court considers 4 factors when determining if there is clear and convincing evidence that the health and welfare of the child would be harmed unless there is visitation by the grandparents (or other family member).
- The minor child resided with the family member for six months or more;
- The family member provided financial support for the basic needs of the child for at least one year;
- There was an established pattern of regular visitation or child care by the family member with the child; or
- Any other circumstance exists indicating that emotional or physical harm would be reasonably likely to result if such visitation is not granted.
Also,
there is a rebuttable presumption that a child may suffer emotional injury
harmful to the child's health if all contact between the child and the
grandparent is terminated where there is a preexisting relationship between the
child and the grandparent. See O.C.G.A. § 19-7-3 (c)(3).
2018 Law Change For Grandparent Visitation
It's important to note that law on grandparents visitation rights in Georgia changed recently and is continuing to develop. In 2018, The Supreme Court of Georgia found portions of the visitation rights statute (O.C.G.A. § 19-7-1) unconstitutional. The Court noted that the statutory provisions authorizing courts to award child visitation to a grandparent over the objection of a fit parent without a clear and convincing showing of harm to child in circumstances involving the death, incapacitation, or incarceration of the other parent violated the fundamental right of parents to the care, custody, and control of their children under state constitution.
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