Grandmother Not Entitled to Grandparent Visitation
Tennessee child custody case summary on grandparent visitation in divorce and family law.
Grandmother failed to establish need for grandparent visitation.
Deborah Fly et al., v. Haley Rae Fly et al.
The mother in this Wilson County, Tennessee, Juvenile Court case was divorced from the biological father and was granted sole custody. Subsequent to the divorce, she moved in with her father, who saw his grandchild almost daily.
During this time, the maternal grandmother, who was divorced from the grandfather, never saw the child. Starting in 2019, at the grandfather’s urging, the mother allowed the grandmother to build a relationship with the child, and she saw the child about six times that year. During the COVID pandemic, she kept the child for an extended time.
The mother suddenly left the grandfather’s home in 2021, leaving behind some of the child’s clothing and toys. Both grandparents feared for the child’s safety.
Later that summer, the grandmother petitioned for visitation under the Tennessee Grandparent Visitation statute. As a result, the child was removed from the mother and placed with the grandparents for a week. The child was then ordered back with the mother, and when the grandfather visited the home, he found that the child was safe.
The grandmother continued on with the petition. After a heated hearing, the trial court granted the grandmother visitation. It ordered a week in June, a week during Christmas break, and one weekend four months per year. It also ordered a weekly video call.
The mother then appealed to the Tennessee Court of Appeals. She first challenged the constitutionality of the Grandparent Visitation Statute. She also argued that, even if the statute was valid, the evidence preponderated against it.
She argued that the statute was not applicable, because it applies only when the custodial parent opposes visitation. But the appeals court agreed that this threshold had been met. It noted that the mother took steps to ensure that visitation did not occur, due to her sudden departure.
The mother also argued that the grandmother had not proven that a denial of visitation would cause the child severe emotional harm. The lower court had so held, but the appeals court noted that there had not been any subsidiary factual findings to support this conclusion. There must be enough factual findings to show the appellate court that the lower court had followed the proper steps to reach the conclusion, and that was absent in this case.
After a thorough review of the case, the Court of Appeals concluded that the grandmother had not met the burden of proof to show severe emotional harm. For these reasons, it reversed the lower court’s ruling without needing to address the constitutional argument.
The opinion of the Court of Appeals was penned by Judge W. Neal McBrayer.
No. M2022-01089-COA-R3-JV (Tenn. Ct. App. Dec. 26, 2024).
See original opinion for exact language. Legal citations omitted.
To learn more, see Grandparent Visitation Rights Law in Tennessee.
