Grandparent's visitation rights granted, when
A grandparent can ask a court for the right to visit their grandchild in certain situations — like when the parents are divorcing, when one parent has died and the other is blocking the grandparent's visits, or when the child lived with the grandparent for at least six months in the past two years. The court will only allow the visits if it decides the visits are good for the child. These visitation rights can end if the child is adopted.
452.402. Grandparent's ed, when — appointed, when — upon adoption — and costs assessed, when. — 1. The court may grant reasonable visitation rights to the grandparents of the child and any necessary s to the when a grandparent has been unreasonably denied for a period exceeding sixty days, and:
(1) The parents of the child have filed for a of their marriage. A grandparent shall have the right to in any dissolution solely on the issue of visitation rights. Grandparents shall also have the right to file a to the original decree of dissolution to seek visitation rights when visitation has been denied to them;
(2) One parent of the child is deceased and the surviving parent denies reasonable visitation to a parent of the deceased parent of the child; or
(3) The child has resided in the grandparent's home for at least six months within the twenty-four month period immediately preceding the of the .
2. Before ordering visitation, the court shall, in addition to the requirements of 1 of this section, determine if the visitation by the grandparent would be in the child's best interests. Visitation may only be ordered when the court finds such visitation to be in the . The court may order reasonable conditions or on grandparent visitation.
3. If the court finds it to be in the best interests of the child, the court may appoint a guardian ad litem for the child. The guardian ad litem shall be an attorney licensed to practice law in Missouri. The guardian ad litem may, for the purpose of determining the question of grandparent visitation rights, participate in the proceedings as if such guardian ad litem were a . The court shall enter allowing a reasonable fee to the guardian ad litem.
4. A , as described by section 452.390, may be ordered by the court to assist in determining the best interests of the child.
5. The court may, , consult with the child regarding the child's wishes in determining the .
6. The right of a grandparent to maintain visitation rights this section may terminate upon the adoption of the child.
7. The court may reasonable and expenses to the .
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Source & history notes
(L. 1977 S.B. 430 § 2, A.L. 1984 H.B. 1513, A.L. 1988 H.B. 1272, et al., A.L. 1996 S.B. 869, A.L. 1998 S.B. 674, A.L. 2002 S.B. 923, et al., A.L. 2004 H.B. 1453, A.L. 2019 S.B. 83) (2000) The plain and ordinary meaning of "grandparent" in this section includes only the parents of a child's father or mother, not a step-grandparent. Hampton v. Hampton, 17 S.W.3d 599 (Mo.App.W.D.).
Legal information, not legal advice. Always confirm with the official source at revisor.mo.gov.