Grandparent Visitation Research Articles

Grandparent Visitation Rights in Spain: Which Psychosocial Arguments are Taken into Account to Grant or Deny Visits?

The purpose of this study was to assess reports by psychologists and social workers in lawsuits regarding grandparent visitation rights in Barcelona (Spain). Seventy-three reports written during a five-year period were analysed Sixty-three per cent of cases recommended grandparents being granted visitation rights. A content analysis of the reports revealed that they were more likely to contain negative rather than positive comments about a family member (especially grandparents). Finally, the analysis showed that aspects such as grandparent abilities and a hidden agenda on the part of grandparents were associated with a recommendation that a visitation schedule be denied, whereas the presence of a strong bond between grandparents and the grandchild was related to a favourable recommendation. The article discusses directions for further research and the potential value of drawing up guidelines to assess grandparent rights in the event of family conflict.

Recent Developments in Indiana Family Law: October 2014 to September 2015

This article considers the notable developments in Indiana family law during the survey period of October 1, 2014 to September 30, 2015. The Indiana statutes and published appellate cases surveyed in this article concern same-sex marriage, property division upon divorce, grandparent visitation and parenting time, child custody and child support, CHINS and the termination of parental rights, adoption, and jurisdiction and procedure.

Recent Developments in Indiana Family Law

INTRODUCTION This Article surveys the volume of Indiana appellate decisions involving family law topics published from October 1, 2013, through September 30, 2014, as well as a Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals opinion of September 4, 2014. These cases concentrate on the matters of dissolution of marriage; the rights of same-sex couples; child custody, parenting time, and grandparent visitation; child support; and adoption and guardianship.1

Court‐Ordered Grandparent Visitation: Welcome Event or Unwarranted Intrusion into Family Life?

This article explores changes in state laws that allow a grandparent to petition a court for visits with a grandchild, permitting a court to order visits over the objection of a fit parent. Such changes are altering the century‐old rule that fit parents have a right to control the upbringing of their children. The changes allow the state to intervene in family life when intervention is in a child’s best interest, and the state does not have to prove a parent unfit in order to make such an intervention. Also, this article briefly considers court decisions that allow a nonrelative to petition for visitation and custody. It concludes by examining the implications of these decisions for the meaning of family and for social policy.

Grandparent Visitation Rights

The purpose of the study was to review grandparent visitation cases to determine how justices interpreted the best interests of the child standard. Using grounded theory methods, the author conducted a study on 46 grandparent visitation cases. Based on the critical review of these cases, three themes emerged: parental rights, children’s rights, and child development. These themes help to explain how courts influence the social construction of power within families. The author closes the study with implications and suggestions for future research.

Grandparent Visitation Rights

The author examined 65 cases in which grandparents successfully acquired court-ordered visitation with their grandchildren to understand how courts shape family development and how social scientists might support families who are engaged in legal disputes. Using grounded theory methods, two categories explained grandparents’ success at acquiring court-ordered visitation with their grandchildren: (a) serving the best interests of the child and (b) reflecting a slight shift in family law traditions. The second category, a shift in family law traditions, was made clear by these themes: (a) derivatives of rights, (b) intruding on the parental rights of adoptive parents,(c) balancing the rights of parents, children, and grandparents. Conclusions and suggestions for the role of social science professionals are offered that address the complexities of family law, grandparent visitation rights, and contemporary family issues

Von Eiff v. Azicri: An Important Step in the Refinement of Grandparent Visitation Analysis

This article examines the effect of the Florida Supreme Court's opinion in Von Eiff v. Azicri, 720 So.2d 510 (Fla. 1998) on grandparent visitation law, both in Florida and nationally. It explores Von Eiff's conceptualization of the parental privacy rights at stake in a grandparent visitation suit, and details the evolution of logic and caselaw that led inexorably to its conclusions. This article also focuses on Von Eiff's explication of a clear and workable harm standard that both protects parental privacy and also harmonizes grandparent visitation law with other areas of family law. Finally, the article notes Von Eiff's practical significance in light of the incomplete guidance provided by the United States Supreme Court's decision in Troxel v. Granville. Von Eiff's analysis provides a thoughtful model of how constitutional standards may be applied to grandparent visitation statutes - and why those statutes must inevitably fail.

TROXEL v. GRANVILLE AND THE BOUNDARIES OF THERAPEUTIC JURISPRUDENCE

Troxel v. Granville, a case arising out of the application of a statute permitting court‐ordered grandparent visitation based on a judicial determination of the best interest of the child, provided the opportunity for the U.S. Supreme Court to demonstrate its receptivity to therapeutic concerns. The decade preceding Troxel had seen the emergence of a school of thought labeled “therapeutic jurisprudence” that seemed a perfect fit for addressing the subject matter before the Court. In this article, the author discusses the rise of therapeutic jurisprudence, its relevance to the subject matter before the Court in Troxel, and the lessons to be learned from the Court's failure to embrace therapeutic concerns in its resolution of this case.

Troxel V. Granville and its Implications for Families and Practice: A Multidisciplinary Symposium: State Supreme Court Applications of Troxel V. Granville and the Courts' Reluctance to Declare Grandparent Visitation Statutes Unconstitutional

Troxel V. Granville and its Implications for Families and Practice: A Multidisciplinary Symposium: State Supreme Court Applications of Troxel V. Granville and the Courts' Reluctance to Declare Grandparent Visitation Statutes Unconstitutional

Grandparent visitation rights: an inappropriate intrusion or appropriate protection?

Increased divorce rates, longevity in multi-generational families, and activism by older persons are a part of the context in which the role of grandparents in the family, an overview of grandparent visitation statutes, and controversy about visitation rights are discussed. The history and characteristics of grandparent visitation statutes, the process of filing, and criteria used to grant visitation provide insight into the complexities of the request for, and determination of, these rights. Family dynamics interact with a myriad of state statutes to suggest implications for research and policy.

IN THE AFTERMATH OF TROXEL V. GRANVILLE

While the Court in Troxel v. Granville opines about the problems litigation creates, that of both expense and intrusion into the lives of families in the midst of grandparent visitation disputes, the Court decision falls short of posing a solution. The focus of this note is to propose a standard for mediation as a viable alternative to traditional litigation in such cases. The hope is that mediation will serve the best interests of the child.

Grandparent Visitation Rights

The purpose of this research was to examine mostly state supreme and appellant court cases from across the country that were brought under state grandparent visitation right statutes. We systematically analyzed justices' legal reasoning in 67 cases that favored parents. Themes derived from the data explained why parental rights superceded the rights of grandparents. Grandparent visitation that unfairly intruded on parental rights and failed to serve the best interest of the child were two themes that explained justices' legal reasoning. That grandparents failed to follow legal requirements including those in state grandparent visitation statutes was the predominate theme that explained how justices protected parental rights over that of grandparents.

MUDDLING THROUGH THE MURKY WATERS OF TROXEL

A critical case in the area of third‐party visitation rights was decided by the U. S. Supreme Court in July 2000 (Troxel v. Granville). A plurality in this case held that a Washington grandparent visitation statute was not facially unconstitutional but was as applied to the facts of that case. The author discusses the varying opinions of the Supreme Court justices in the Troxel decision. Next, he analyzes the plurality opinion to determine the appropriate standard of review in grandparent visitation cases. Following is a consideration of how the decision will affect other state grandparent visitation legislation. Examining these issues, the author concludes that future third‐party visitation cases will be decided on a fact‐specific, case‐by‐case basis.

Parental (And Grandparental) Rights after Troxel v Granville

In Troxel v Granville, the Supreme Court invalidated a state law authorizing courts to award grandparents visitation, over parental objections, upon a finding that visitation is in the child's best interests. This Article argues that Troxel was rightly decided, but that the Court did not go far enough. Judicial review of visitation disputes under a child-welfare standard creates high litigation costs but yields little improvement in parental incentives. Thus, the common law rule, under which parents had plenary discretion over visitation issues, is clearly superior to most grandparent visitation laws. The Troxel ruling, that courts may review visitation disputes provided they give some deference to parental judgments, will reduce the damage done by these laws. But had the Court's tacit intermediate-scrutiny review been better informed by economic analysis, it would have opted for a stronger rule forbidding any judicial review of parental visitation decisions in most circumstances.

Lochner Redeemed: Family Privacy After Troxel and Carhart

At least since its 1992 decision in Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey, the Supreme Court has differentiated its review of abortion laws from its scrutiny of other intrusions on family privacy. Whereas abortion restrictions are reviewed under the middling "undue burden" standard, incursions on other family-related liberties, including marriage, kinship, and child rearing are said to be subject to the strict scrutiny ordinarily employed in the defense of fundamental rights. This Article contends that the Court's most recent decisions in this context give reason to reconsider both sides of that equation. Stenberg v. Carhart, striking down Nebraska's ban on "partial-birth" abortions, suggests that the Court's scrutiny in the abortion context will be more aggressive and rigid than most had supposed. At the same time, its decision in Troxel v. Granville, limiting states' authority to order grandparent visitation over the objects of a parent, suggest that there is more fluidity in the Court's review of other family liberties than is conventionally assumed. Together the cases signal a convergence in both sorts of family-privacy controversies toward a common standard of "reasonableness." That standard bears, for many, an uncomfortable association with the much-maligned "natural law-due process formula" of the Lochner era, but Professor Meyer argues that it is precisely the right approach in the context of family privacy. Although more rigid doctrinal formulae are sometimes preferred on the ground that they constrain judicial judgment, here they are undesirable precisely because they obscure the value judgments that are inevitably at the core of every family-privacy decision.

Legally Extending the Family

This article examines the structural forces influencing the enactment of grandparent visitation rights statutes. Cox regression is used to analyze demographic changes, social change, state litigiousness, and regional proximity as factors affecting timing of first enactment. States with higher proportions of people of grandparent age, of minor grandchild age, and higher levels of urban residence were more likely to enact than were other states. States with higher divorce rates and higher numbers of neighboring states that previously had enacted or enacted during the same year were less likely to enact than were other states. This project illustrates the need for more empirical testing of the influence of structural variables on the enactment of family policy.

THE EFFECTS OF CURRICULUM ON PRESCHOOL CHILDREN'S PERCEPTIONS OF THE ELDERLY

Perceptions of the elderly were determined for 42 4‐ and 5‐year‐old children. The Social Attitude Scale of Ageist Prejudice (SASAP) was used to examine how these young children perceived elderly people after being exposed to a developmentally appropriate classroom curriculum that focused on the characteristics and positive aspects of the elderly. In a pretest‐posttest design, a decrease in prejudice score was found for children in the experimental group from pretest to posttest; an increase in prejudice score was determined for the control group. Results of this study also indicate that young children are more negative toward elderly persons’ abilities than toward their social characteristics and that level of grandparent visitation is unrelated to SASAP score.

Grandparent visitation disputes: Multigenerational approaches to family mediation

AbstractThis article examines the implications of the authors research on grandparent‐grandchild access difficulties and contact loss for family mediation. The rapid growth in recent years of the “grandparent rights” self‐help movement in North America suggests that a significant proportion of grandparents is at risk of losing contact with grandchildren. Existing legal and therapeutic resources are perceived as inadequate for addressing this problem. Two distinct multigenerational approaches to family mediation are considered, and guidelines are suggested for the involvement of grandparents in the family mediation process.

GRANDPARENT VISITATION RIGHTS

In recent years, legislators in all fifty states have given grandparents rights to petition for visitation privileges with grandchildren that can be enforced over parental objections. Grandparent visitation rights reflect an effort to protect meaningful relationships children enjoy with nonparental caregivers, enlist the assistance of extended family when the child's nuclear family is disrupted, and defend the interests of grandparents themselves. This psycholegal analysis explores the direct and indirect consequences of grandparent visitation statutes for family functioning. Statutory provisions are summarized, and the effects of these statutes are evaluated in light of what is known about the role of grandparents in child development, how courts evaluate children's “best interests” in grandparent visitation disputes, and how these statutes can alter family functioning in informal ways. The authors conclude that there are risks as well as benefits to children and families in grandparent visitation statutes, and suggest directions for procedural and statutory reform.

Grandparent visitation rights: Rendering family dissension more pronounced?

Legislation allowing grandparents to file suit to gain court-ordered visitation with their grandchildren is now law in most states. Legal issues and reported cases are presented, and problems for children and families that are posed by this sort of legal conflict are outlined.