Mississippi Family Law Attorneys

GRANDPARENT VISITATION

The court may award reasonable visitation rights to grandparents, including grandparents by adoption, provided the court finds:

1. That the grandparent of the child had established a viable relationship with the child; and

2. The parent or custodian of the child unreasonably denied the grandparent visitation rights with the child; and

3. That visitation rights of the grandparent with the child would be in the best interests of the child.

A "viable relationship" means a relationship in which the grandparents or either of them have voluntarily and in good faith supported the child financially in whole or in part for a period of not less than 6 months before filing any their petition for visitation rights or the grandparents have had frequent visitation including occasional overnight visitation with the child for a period of not less than 1 year.

Grandparent visitation rights do not apply to the natural grandparents of any child who has been adopted unless one of the legal parents of the child is also a natural parent of the child or one of the legal parents of the child was related to the child by blood or marriage prior to the adoption.