Grandparent visitation is a legal right that grandparents in some jurisdictions may have to have court-ordered contact (or visitation) with their grandchildren. In no case is contact between grandparents and children considered an inalienable right.
United States
, all US states have statutes that permit non-parents to ask a court to grant them the legal right to maintain ongoing contact with a child. In many states, these statutes explicitly name grandparents and great-grandparents as potentially eligible people. The Supreme Court also said that this fundamental right is implicated in grandparent visitation cases, when visitation orders are imposed over parental objection.
The court held that grandparent visitation laws were not unconstitutional on their face, as requested in the case. The Supreme Court declared that a parent's fundamental right to the "care, custody and control of their children" was "at issue in this case." They held that in order for state laws to be constitutional, three things need to be in the law:
- If there is a claim or action filed, it is the grandparent that has the burden of proof;
- The court should give "deference" to a "fit" parent's decision; and
- The grandparent may still proceed with their request for grandparent visitation and overcome being denied contact; and each state should have a set of factors for the court to evaluate when deciding to either grant or deny a grandparent's request, over a parent's objections.
The Supreme Court ultimately ruled that the statute impermissibly interfered with a parents fundamental right to raise their child as they saw fit in that the statute was “breathtakingly over broad” and allowed anyone, biologically related or not, to, at any time, petition the court for an order granting them contact with a child.
State courts considering non-parent visitation petitions must apply "a presumption that fit parents act in the best interests of their children.". Troxel requires that state courts must give "deference" or some special weight to a fit parent's decision to deny non-parent visitation. "Choices [parents make] about the upbringing of children... are among constitutional rights, but were not an absolute right... sheltered by the Fourteenth Amendment against the State's unwarranted usurpation, disregard, or disrespect." This principle must inform the understanding of the "special weight" that Troxel requires courts to give to parents' decisions concerning their choices regarding how the grandparents will associate with their children. Even though Troxel does not define "special weight," previous Supreme Court precedent indicates that "special weight" is a strong term signifying very considerable deference. The "special weight" requirement, as illuminated by the Supreme Court in its previously decided cases, means that the deference provided to the parent's wishes will be overcome only by some compelling governmental interest and by overwhelmingly clear factual circumstances supporting that governmental interest.
Italy
Limited grandparent visitation rights exist in Italy.