Section 9.25 Grandparent Visitation

• Library: Family Law Deskbook and 2014 Supp

B. (§9.25) Grandparent Visitation

Under § 452.402.1, RSMo Supp. 2011, the court may grant reasonable visitation rights to the grandparents under the following circumstances:

· The parents of the child have filed for dissolution. Grandparents have the right to intervene on the sole issue of visitation rights or to file a motion to modify the original decree of dissolution to seek visitation rights; or

· “One parent of the child is deceased and the surviving parent denies reasonable visitation to a parent of the deceased parent of the child; or”

· “The child has resided in the grandparent’s home for at least six months within the twenty-four month period immediately preceding the filing of the petition; and”

· A grandparent is unreasonably denied visitation with the child for a period exceeding 90 days, unless the natural parents are legally married to each other and are living together with the child. In this case, the grandparent may not file for visitation under this subdivision. According to § 452.402.2, when the parents are married and living together with the child, it establishes a rebuttable presumption that the parents know what is in the best interest of the child.

Section 452.402 was amended for clarification in 2004. Under the current statute, grandparent visitation cannot be sought based on the fact that “the child is adopted by a stepparent, another grandparent or other blood relative” because that language was deleted from the statute. Cf. § 211.177, RSMo 2000.

Further, the grandparent visitation statute, § 452.402, states that the right of a grandparent to maintain visitation rights may terminate upon the adoption of the child. Section 452.402.6. In In re C.A.C., 282 S.W.3d 862 (Mo. App. W.D. 2009), the mother’s rights were terminated, and the child was adopted by the paternal grandparents. The Western District found that, without a court order, the maternal grandparents still had visitation rights under § 452.402. C.A.C., 282 S.W.3d 862.

In Blakely v. Blakely, 83 S.W.3d 537 (Mo. banc 2002), the parents argued that the trial court erred in granting the grandparents visitation rights under § 452.402, claiming that this statute was unconstitutional. The Supreme Court of Missouri disagreed and held that the statute is constitutional and that the award of a 2-hour visit every 90 days was not unreasonable and did not intrude on the parental rights of the parents.

In Shemwell v. Arni, 223 S.W.3d 216 (Mo. App. W.D. 2007), the maternal grandparents...