Grandmother Not Entitled to Visitation of Child of Estranged Daughter
Tennessee case summary on grandparent visitation in divorce and family law.
Grandmother not entitled to grandparent visitation of child of estranged daughter.
Mary McCabe Peirce v. Lee Wesson Hope
The maternal grandmother in this Shelby County, Tennessee, grandparent visitation case brought an action against the child’s father. The mother, who had a history of substance abuse, was estranged from both her mother and the child.
The child was born in 2009, and until the parents separated in 2011, the grandmother saw the child on a regular basis.
In 2018, the father gained custody, and this was the last time the grandmother saw the child. She did not immediately reach out, but started with a series of text messages in 2019. The father had a meeting with the grandmother with a therapist, and he requested that she appear at an upcoming court hearing. She brought the action for grandparent visitation in 2021, and the trial court made a ruling in 2023. The court held that there was no danger of substantial harm in the absence of visitation, and denied the petition. The grandmother then appealed to the Tennessee Court of Appeals.
The appeals court noted that there is a constitutional right of parents to make decisions about the care and custody of the children, while the grandparent had some rights under the Tennessee grandparent visitation statute. But for that statute to apply, there must be a showing of substantial harm to the child.
After reviewing the evidence, the appeals court concluded that the trial court had acted properly. It noted that the grandmother had not seen the child since 2018, and that all the evidence pointed to the fact that the child was happy and well adjusted. For that reason, it affirmed the lower court’s ruling.
The father also argued on appeal that he should have been awarded attorney fees. It held that under the facts of this case, attorney fees were not available to a prevailing party in a grandparent visitation case. Therefore, it affirmed the lower court’s ruling in its entirety.
The opinion of the Court of Appeals was authored by Judge Arnold B. Goldin.
No. W2023-00621-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. June 6, 2024).
See original opinion for exact language. Legal citations omitted.
To learn more, see Grandparent Visitation Rights Law in Tennessee.
