Grandmother Visitation Rights Limited When Interfere with Rights of Mom

Tennessee gradparent visitation case summary.

In re Diawn B.

The child in this Rutherford County, Tennessee, case was born in 2015 to unwed parents.  When the child was seven weeks old, the father died in an automobile accident.  The paternal grandmother initially had contact with the child, but the relationship with the mother soon turned adversarial, and the mother ultimately stopped allowing the grandmother to have visitation.

The mother then filed a petition in juvenile court for grandparent’s rights.  The mother stated that she had no objection to visitation, but asked that the father’s family should have their interaction with the child while the mother was present, until the grandmother had a stable and safe place to interact with the child.

A trial was held at which the court applied the Tennessee Grandparent Rights statute.  The court held that the mother had interfered with the grandmother’s visitation, and created a visitation schedule.  This schedule included one weekend a month, every other thanksgiving, every Christmas holiday, Father’s Day, the father’s birthday, and during summer breaks.

The trial court also awarded the grandmother certain parental rights, such as notification of medical needs, right to participate in extracurricular activities, and to be free of derogatory remarks.  The mother made a post-trial motion which was largely denied, but the grandmother was awarded attorney fees for the motion.

The mother than appealed to the Tennessee Court of Appeals, arguing that the trial court had gone beyond what was required under the grandparent visitation statute.

The Court of Appeals first reviewed the statute and concluded that the grandmother was entitled to the protection of the statute.  However, it then examined the exact relief granted.

The appeals court noted that under the statute, the grandparent does not have equal standing to that of a parent.  Instead, the court noted that a parent has a fundamental constitutional right in the upbringing of children, and that this right is superior to the rights granted a grandparent under the statute.

After examining the visitation schedule, the Court of Appeals agreed with the mother that the visitation schedule was so extensive that it impermissibly interfered with the mother’s constitutional rights.  Such a schedule must be narrowly tailored, and the appeals court held that it was not.  For this reason, the Court of Appeals vacated the schedule and sent the case back for a much more narrow schedule.

The appeals court then examined the other portions of the lower court’s order, granting the grandmother certain parental rights related to medical care and extracurricular activities.  It reviewed the statute, which calls for reasonable visitation, and noted the absence of any of the other rights granted by the lower court.  For this reason, the Court of Appeals vacated this portion of the lower court’s order.

Finally, the Court of Appeals held that the lower court erred in granting attorney’s fees for the post-trial motion.

For these reasons, the Court of Appeals reversed the lower court’s decision and remanded the case.

No. M2017-01159-COA-R3-JV  (Tenn. Ct. App. Jul. 23, 2018).

See original opinion for exact language.  Legal citations omitted.

To learn more, see Grandparent Visitation Rights Law in Tennessee.

See also Tennessee Parenting Plans and Child Support Worksheets: Building a Constructive Future for Your Family featuring examples of parenting plans and child support worksheets from real cases available on Amazon.com.