Massachusetts Law About Grandparents' Visitation Rights
Massachusetts Laws
MGL c.119, s.39D Visitation Rights To Certain Grandparents of Unmarried Minor Children.
Forms
Selected Case Law
Blixt v. Blixt, 437 Mass. 649 (2002). A parent's decision regarding grandparent visitation must be given "presumptive validity." To obtain visitation, "the grandparents must allege and prove that the failure to grant visitation will cause the child significant harm by adversely affecting the child's health, safety, or welfare."
Guardianship of Norman, 41 Mass. App. Ct. 402 (1996) Statute requires judge to make specific and complete written findings that visitation is in child's best interests.
Sher v. Desmond, 70 Mass.App.Ct. 270 (2007). Although there is a presumption of parental fitness to decide whether or not to involve grandparents in a child' life, the state has a compelling interest in protecting children from harm. In this case, the court applied the Blixt standard and held that while the grandmother had no previous relationship with the child, she may sue for visitation to protect the child from significant harm. "The grandmother's allegations [of abuse] rebut the presumption of the father's fitness, at the very least, to decide alone whether to permit visitation."
Troxel v. Granville, 530 U.S. 57, 147 L.Ed. 2d 49, 120 S.Ct. 2054 (2000) In a 6-3 decision, the Court struck down a Washington state judge's granting of grandparent visitation over the wishes of a parent, but did not declare all such statutes unconstitutional. Both sides found supporting arguments in the six separate opinions the Court issued.
Other Web Sources
Grandparent Visitation and Caretaker Visitation Rights, Nolo.com.
Grandparents' Visitation Rights, AARP, 2009. Includes several articles on the issue.
Print Sources
"After Troxel v. Granville: Grandparent Visitation in Massachusetts," by Fern L. Frolin and Jennifer A. Fabriele. 44 Boston Bar Journal 8 (September/October 2000).
"The Extent of Grandparent Visitation in New England," by Erik Shaughnessy. 24 Massachusetts Family Law Journal 64 (June-July 2006).
"Grandparent Visitation Rights in Massachusetts After Troxel: Blixt v. Blixt," by Jeffrey J. Trapani. 38:3 New England Law Review 759 (Spring 2004).
Grandparents' Rights, by Tracy Truly. 3d ed. Sphinx Pub. Co., 2005.
"Grandparents Visitation Claims: Assessing the Multiple Harms of Litigation to Families and Children," by Stephen A. Newman. 13 Boston University Public Interest Law Journal 21 (Fall 2003). Available online to library card holders through Hein Online.
"Grandparents' Visitation Rights Where Child's Parents Are Deceased, or Where Status of Parents Is Unspecified." 69 ALR5th 1.
"Grandparents' Visitation Rights Where Child's Parents Are Living." 71 ALR5th 99.
Massachusetts Practice vol. 2A (Family Law and Practice) West Group, 2002 with supplement, sec.48.2 et seq. (Includes forms); vol. 5A (Methods of Practice) 4th ed., West Group, 2000 with supplement, sec. 26:7 et seq. (Includes forms); vol. 14A (Summary of Basic Law) 4th ed., West Group, 2006 with supplement, sec. 8.192.
"Parents First: Supreme Court Warns Judges to be Cautious When Granting Visitation Rights to Grandparents," by David Savage. 86 ABA Journal 38 (August 2000). Also Available online to library card holders through Hein Online.
A Resource Guide for Massachusetts Grandparents Raising Their Grandchildren 3d ed. Executive Office of Elder Affairs, 2001.
Organizations
AARP: Grandparenting Center
601 E Street NW
Washington DC 20049
(888) 687-2277 M-F 7am to midnight.
The Foundation for Grandparenting
108 Farnham Road
Ojai, CA 93023
(805) 640-0512
Grandparents' Rights Organization
100 W. Long Lake Rd., Ste. 250
Bloomfield Hills MI 48304
(248) 646-7191
National Committee of Grandparents for Children's Rights
School of Social Welfare
HSC, Level 2, Room 093
Stoney Brook University
Stoney Brook, NY 11794-8231
(866) 624-9900