Grandparents' Visitation Rights in Tennessee
For many children, grandparents occupy a special place in life, providing a level of love and support that is maybe matched only by the child’s parents. Tennessee recognizes this and has taken steps to ensure that changing circumstances in a child’s life won’t prevent that child and the grandparent from being able to spend quality time together. Tennessee’s Grandparent Visitation Act, T.C.A. section 36-6-306, guarantees grandparents the right to a hearing granting them visitation rights in situations where visitation is opposed by the custodial parent(s), and:
- “The father or mother of an unmarried minor child is deceased;
- The child's father or mother are divorced, legally separated, or were never married to
each other; - The child's father or mother has been missing for not less than six (6) months;
- The court of another state has ordered grandparent visitation;
- The child resided in the home of the grandparent for a period of twelve (12) months or more and was subsequently removed from the home by the parent or parents (this grandparent-grandchild relationship establishes a rebuttable presumption that denial of visitation may result in irreparable harm to the child); or
- The child and the grandparent maintained a significant existing relationship for a period of twelve (12) months or more immediately preceding severance of the relationship, this relationship was severed by the parent or parents for reasons other than abuse or presence of a danger of substantial harm to the child, and severance of this relationship is likely to occasion substantial emotional harm to the child.”
The Tennessee Court of Appeals recently decided that opposition of grandparent visitation by a custodial parent does not have to be a formal and total opposition to fall within the language of the statute. The Court found that after a child’s father had died, the mother had effectively opposed visitation by the paternal grandparents by refusing to answer the telephone when they called and substantially reducing visitation time.
The court found that this opposition to visitation time was substantial enough to satisfy the statutory requirement to warrant a hearing to determine whether the grandparents should be granted visitation rights under T.C.A. section 36-6-306. During such a hearing, a court is directed by the statute to first consider whether there is a danger of substantial harm to the child as a result of the grandparents being denied visitation and then consider whether it is in the best interest of the child to grant the grandparents visitation rights.
To make this best interest determination in Tennessee family law visitation issues, the court will consider “whether the facts of the particular case would lead a reasonable person to believe that there is a significant existing relationship between the grandparent and grandchild or that the loss of the relationship is likely to occasion severe emotional harm to the child.” Grandparents who find themselves in a situation where their visitation is being reduced in such a manner should be aware of what their legal rights are and how to assert them. Once a hearing is granted, the court will look to what is in the best interest of the child to determine how much visitation time, if any, is granted.
Sources: Wilson v. Gladden, 34 TAM 34-7, 7/22/09, ES, Franks, 3 pages; T.C.A. section 36-6-306
