Grandma Wants Visitation With Only Grandchild

[LdiJ]

Grandparents do have standing to sue in many states. Troxel did not state that grandparents should not have that right. It stated that FIT parents wishes must be given extreme weight and that if a parent is not fit or causes harm or is detrimental in some way, then a best interest evaluation should be done.

Why haven't YOU read it?

Grandparents still have limited standing to sue in most states. What Troxel did was limit standing more than it had been, and gave fit parents wishes extreme weight. Therefore now judges cannot simply treat it like a parent vs parent case, and automatically award visitation unless the grandparents can be proven unfit.

That is where the state of things were pre Troxel. All a grandparent had to do was file, despite the circumstances, and visitation was granted. Now judges are required to follow very different standards, and most states have modified their statutes to reflect that...or state case law has reflected that even if the statutes have not been modified.

NY and PA are the stubborn hold outs. PA with its "partial custody" which is a gross violation of a parent's constitutional rights, and NY with its "when equity sees fit to intervene". However parents with the right attorney and the right mindset can still win cases in both states. Its more difficult than in other states, but it can be done.

I know one parent in NY that managed to win pre-Troxel, and she has become such an expert on the subject of GPV, that she has taught continuing education classes to attorneys on the subject, by invitation.