Grandparents Cannot Intervene in Parental Rights Termination Case

Tennessee child custody case summary on grandparent visitation rights.

In re: C.H.

This was a parental rights termination case from Jefferson County, Tennessee.

The child was born in 2010 and lived in a home with the parents, aunt, older cousin, and maternal grandparents.  In 2014, the child was removed from the home due, in part, to the parents’ drug use.  A petition to terminate parental rights was filed, and the grandparents moved to intervene in the case.  The trial court denied their request, but allowed the grandparents to make an immediate appeal.

On appeal, the grandparents argued that their interest in the well-being of their grandson was obvious, and warranted their involvement in the case.  The state, on the other hand, argued that their interest was “too attenuated.”

The appeals court first noted that the Tennessee Supreme Court had previously held that the mere biological relationship was insufficient to guarantee the right to intervene by grandparents.  But that earlier case acknowledged that it might be appropriate in the right circumstances.

The grandparents argued that their case was distinguishable, because their relationship went far beyond a biological one.  The child had lived with them before being removed by the state, and the grandfather had assumed almost all of the financial responsibility.

But the Court of Appeals held that this by itself was insufficient.  In particular, the appeals court noted that the grandparents had taken no steps to adopt the child.  If they had been “prospective adoptive parents,” then their status might have been different.  Therefore, the Court of Appeals held that they did not have the right to intervene in the case.

The court then went on to consider whether permissive intervention should have been allowed in the case.  The grandparents argued that because they would have visitation rights, they should be allowed to participate in the case to adjudicate those rights.  But the Court of Appeals disagreed, noting that the grandparents would have other means to pursue those rights.

For those reasons, the Court of Appeals affirmed the ruling and remanded the case.

No. E2016-00702-COA-R9-PT  (Tenn. Ct. App. Jan. 31, 2017).

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.