How the Troxel Decision Affects Other States

Many states have permissive visitation laws similar to Washington's. These states don't see grandparent or caretaker visitation as a severe restriction on the right of parents to control the upbringing of their children. Instead, they classify visitation as only a slight burden on that right. Therefore, the states need only justify the burden with a "rational" reason. Preserving the right of children to maintain strong bonds with their grandparents generally qualifies as such a reason.

In addition, the Court in Troxel appeared to be swayed by the fact that the mother was not seeking to cut off the grandparents' visitation entirely. Instead, she chose to limit the visitation to one, nonovernight visit per month, plus some special holidays. If the mother had tried to bar the grandparents from visiting their grandchildren completely, it is possible that the Court would have reached a different conclusion.

The Supreme Court's decision in Troxel is not the final word on grandparents' visitation rights. It's likely that parents will continue to challenge how permissive visitation statutes are applied in each case. Judges in these states will certainly be more careful to take parents' wishes into account when resolving disputes.

What to Do

Grandparents, caretakers, or parents involved in a struggle about visitation can find out more information on their state's current law by researching their 'state statutes from Nolo's website (search for "grandparent visitation").

Grandparents who face parental resistance to their contact with beloved grandchildren might consider requesting a mediation session with the children's parents. (In fact, some state courts won't consider your petition for visitation until the parties have attended mediation together.) Mediation means that you hire a neutral third party to help all of you create a legally binding agreement that everyone can respect and live with.