Bleeding Grandparent Visitation Rights

There are a lot of military bases in Florida, and a lot of military personnel live there. Recently, a new law was passed that allows grandparents who are in the military to spend time with their grandchildren, even if the child’s parents don’t want them to. This law is part of a long battle over grandparent visitation rights in the state. In Florida, there has been a long fight over grandparent visitation rights. The state has a lot of elderly people, many of whom are grandparents. The legislature has tried to give grandparents the right to visit their grandchildren, even if the parents don’t want them to. They made changes to the law in 1978 and again in 1984 to give grandparents visitation rights in certain situations. But in 1996, the Florida Supreme Court ruled that the law giving grandparents visitation rights was unconstitutional because it violated the parents’ right to privacy. The First District Court changed its decision on a law about grandparent visitation rights. It now says the law is okay, as long as it’s in the best interest of the child. This is different from a similar case six years ago. The Florida Supreme Court has ruled that the state cannot interfere with a parent’s right to raise their children, unless there is evidence of harm to the child. This means that grandparents cannot be given visitation rights unless it is shown that it is in the best interest of the child. Additionally, a new law allows military parents to designate a family member, such as a grandparent, to spend time with their children during military deployment, unless the other parent can prove it is not in the child’s best interest. The bill was not created out of patriotism, but to address the growing number of children living with their grandparents. The staff analysis found that many grandparents are taking on the primary responsibility for the needs of these children. The statute was originally meant to help military families, but it could also apply to nonmilitary families. It doesn’t distinguish between the two, and many nonmilitary families also have parents who are away from home for long periods of time. In simple terms, when parents go to court to resolve a disagreement, they may unintentionally give up their right to privacy. This happened in a case where a grandmother tried to get visitation rights with her grandchild. The court said that because the parents went to court, they gave up their privacy rights. This decision raises concerns about how courts can sometimes ignore important legal rules. The Spence court tried for six years to make a law that would let grandparents visit their grandkids even if the parents didn’t want them to. But in 2004, the Florida Supreme Court said that the law was unconstitutional because it didn’t consider the rights of the parents. A new law was passed in 2008 to try and fix the problem, but it didn’t really help anyone. Grandparents still want to see their grandkids, and parents still don’t want them to. There are some other laws and tax breaks that might help, but the fight isn’t over yet. Grandparents are really active in trying to make sure they can visit their grandkids. In some cases, they can even go to court to ask for visitation rights. More and more grandparents are taking care of their grandkids. But, in Florida, the law doesn’t automatically give grandparents the right to see their grandkids. Some people think this goes against the right to privacy. Grandparents in Florida used to have a hard time getting visitation rights with their grandkids, but the law changed in 1995 to give them more rights. There have been some court cases that have helped clarify these rights, and now grandparents have more standing in custody cases if they have a good relationship with their grandkids. Other states have similar laws, and there was even a big court case in Washington about this issue. It’s important to read all of the judges’ opinions in these cases to understand the full story. In a court case about parental rights, different Supreme Court justices had different opinions. Some thought a law that allowed judges to make decisions for children was unconstitutional, while others thought it should be closely scrutinized. One justice worried that recognizing parental rights not specifically in the Constitution could lead to more government involvement in family matters. In Florida, the state constitution includes a right to privacy that gives more protection than the federal constitution. State laws have changed to allow extended family members to have custody of children in certain situations. Additionally, grandparents can ask for visitation rights during a divorce. Spence has been criticized in legal cases, and a Florida law called Ch. 752 was found unconstitutional but still exists. There are also statutes in Florida related to custody and homestead property. The number of multigenerational households has increased due to the recession, with more children living with their grandparents. Ronald H. Kauffman is a board certified family lawyer in Miami. This information is provided by the Family Law Section.

Source: https://www.floridabar.org/the-florida-bar-journal/bleeding-grandparent-visitation-rights/