TN Supreme Court Clarifies Grandparent Visitation Statute

Tennessee law case summary on grandparent visitation in divorce and family law from the Supreme Court.

Neal Lovlace v. Timothy Kevin Copley – Tennessee divorce grandparents visitation.

The mother and father of a two year old child were divorced in 2004.  The mother was designated as the primary residential parent, and the father, who had a history of drug addiction, received only supervised visitation.  The mother remarried in 2005, and the father, who was then incarcerated, initially consented to the new husband adopting the child.  That consent was later withdrawn, however, and the adoption petition was dismissed.

The father’s parents stated that they had regular contact and involvement with the child until 2006.  In 2006, they filed a petition for grandparent visitation under the Tennessee Grandparent Visitation Statute.  In that petition, they alleged that the mother had terminated their contact in retaliation for the father’s withdrawing consent for adoption.  The parties agreed to an order allowing the grandparents visitation one Saturday per month, and two hours per week during the summer.

Disputes arose almost immediately, and the grandparents filed a petition for contempt in 2007.  While these contempt proceedings were taking place, the mother’s new husband filed another petition to adopt, and that petition was granted.  It did specify, however, that it did not affect the grandparents’ visitation rights.

In 2010, the trial court extended the grandparents’ visitation rights somewhat, and also awarded attorney fees.

An appeal was brought to the Tennessee Court of Appeals.  That court held that the grandparents had standing under the Grandparent Visitation Statute, and that the visitation rights had survived the various proceedings which took place in the trial courts.  It also held that a grandparent seeking modification must show a material change of circumstances.  The Court of Appeals also vacated the award of attorney fees, and held that only fees in connection with the contempt proceedings could be awarded.  Seeking clarification, the grandparents appealed to the Tennessee Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court first held that the grandparents had standing under the statute, even in the absence of a biological relationship with the child.  In this case, the grandmother was the adoptive parent of the child’s biological father, which was held to be sufficient for standing.

The Supreme Court further held that the subsequent adoption did not extinguish the grandparents’ rights.  They had not been parties to the adoption proceeding, and the Court determined that the two statutes did not conflict.

The Supreme Court also held that a denial of visitation is actionable under the Grandparent Visitation Statute.  That statute was designed for cases such as this one where a parent opposed the grandparent’s visitation.  The Court found that there had been such opposition in this case, and that proceedings under the statute were proper.

The Supreme Court also clarified the situations under which grandparent visitation may be modified.  It held that a party seeking modification must show a material change or circumstances, and that the requested modification is in the best interests of the child.  The Supreme Court then discussed the variety of interpretations of such statutes around the country and prior decisions construing the Tennessee statute.  It then went on to apply these factors to this case.  It held that these rules should be applied in a manner that is the same as parental visitation cases.

In this case, there was no explicit finding of risk of harm to the child.  However, the Court held that this factor was not dispositive.  In this case, the Supreme Court found that the situation had become unworkable, and this justified a modification.  The Supreme Court held that a remand was not necessary, and reinstated an earlier order of the trial court.  The Supreme Court went on to hold, however, that there had been insufficient findings to support a holding of contempt, and reversed that portion of the order.

No. M2011-00170-SC-R11-CV (Tenn. Sept. 6, 2013).

See original opinion for exact language.  Legal citations omitted.

Tennessee Grandparent Visitation Rights Law in Tennessee Divorce Law | Miles Mason Family Law Group, PLC