Grandparenting Time Attorney in Grand Rapids

When Can a Grandparent Ask the Court for Contact?

Michigan Compiled Laws 722.27b identifies specific circumstances in which a grandparent may ask for court-ordered contact. Eligibility depends on the child’s family structure, parentage, custody history, existing court cases, and relationship with the grandparent.

A potential statutory basis may involve:

• Certain divorce, separation, or annulment proceedings involving the child’s parents.
• The death of one of the child’s parents.
• Established paternity when unmarried parents don’t live together.
• Legal custody held by someone other than the child’s parent.
• An established custodial environment in which the child has looked to the grandparent for care, guidance, discipline, and necessities over an appreciable period.

None of these circumstances guarantees that the court will grant a request. We can assess how the statute may apply before a petition is prepared or filed.

How the Fit Parent Presumption Affects a Request

The fit parent presumption favors a capable parent’s decision about contact with a grandparent. Michigan law presumes that denying grandparenting time doesn’t create a substantial risk of harm to the child’s mental, physical, or emotional health.

A grandparent generally must rebut that presumption by a preponderance of the evidence, meaning the claim is more likely true than not. The required showing is fact-specific. A close and loving relationship may be important, but affection or regular prior contact alone doesn’t establish a right to court-ordered time.

Best Interests of the Child & Supporting Evidence

If the threshold legal standard is met, the court considers whether an order serves the child’s best interests. The analysis may address the history of the relationship, the proposed schedule, and the arrangement’s potential effect on the child and family.

Relevant information may include:

• Emotional ties: The nature of the bond between the grandparent and child.
• Relationship history: The length, consistency, and quality of their prior contact.
• Caregiving role: The grandparent’s involvement in the child’s daily care or support.
• Health and fitness: The grandparent’s mental health, physical health, and moral fitness.
• Loss of contact: The circumstances that interrupted the relationship.

Communication records, photographs, calendars, school or activity information, and testimony from people familiar with the relationship may document that history. Which evidence matters most depends on the issues disputed in the case.