Law Commons^™

Grandparent Visitation Claims: Assessing The Multiple Harms Of Litigation To Families And Children, Stephen A. Newman

Articles & Chapters

This article provides a detailed appraisal of the negative consequences of grandparent visitation lawsuits, and of the harms caused by state-coerced grandparent visitation, in the context of the malfunctioning extended family. I suggest that the special weight afforded a fit parent's decision should be very substantial, and that it should be dispositive of the case unless the grandparent can produce convincing evidence showing that extraordinary circumstances, involving clear harm to the child, justify court ordered visitation. This high degree of deference to parents derives from two features of grandparent visitation cases that deserve more attention than they have received so …