Background Information: Rights ofGrandparents
As family structures have changed due to increases in divorceand single parenting, the role of grandparents has also changed. Asa result, more decisions about grandparents’ visitation rights arebeing made by courts and state legislatures. Since the mid-1970s,all 50 states have passed laws granting grandparents the right topetition the courts for legally enforced visitation privileges.Before this time period, grandparents had no rights to theirgrandchildren except by consent of the children’s parents.
Early court decisions (e.g., Odell v. Lutz, 1947)emphasized parental autonomy and ruled that grandparent visitationrights would undermine parental authority. In fact, it was statedthat grandparent visitation rights could subject children tointergenerational conflict (e.g., Noll v. Noll, 1950).These rulings also went along with the long tradition that thelegal system should only intervene in the family in extremecircumstances. Early granting of grandparent visitation rights(e.g., Benner v. Benner, 1952) came in cases in which thegrandchildren had lived with the grandparents for extended periods,or in cases in which the parents were deemed “unfit,†and thegrandparents were given custody.
Consider the landmark case of Troxel v. Granville(2000). In 2000, based on this case, the United States SupremeCourt placed limits on the grandparent visitation laws. The courtconcluded that parents who provide adequate care for their childrenmust be able to decide with whom their children will associate. Toleave such decisions up to a judge, in the view of the SupremeCourt, would conflict with parents’ basic constitutionalrights.
Discussion Question:
Discuss the pros and cons of regulated and enforcedgrandparent visitation rights. Part of your answer and discussionshould involve the roles that grandparents play in grandchildren’slives (e.g., alternative caregivers, playmates, family historiansand transmitters of family values and traditions, advice-givers toparents). Also consider how to resolve intergenerational conflict,how to determine the “children’s best interests,†the consequencesof grandparent visitation rights on family functioning, and how toresolve the grandparent policy.
