HB32 Alabama 2010 Session

Under existing law, a grandparent may petition a court for visitation under certain circumstances if visitation is in the best interest of the child. Under existing law, the authority of a court to award visitation to the grandparent is limited where the parent related to the grandparent has either given up legal custody voluntarily or by court order or where the parent has abandoned the child financially unless the grandparent has previously established a relationship with the child. A court may order a grandparent visitation if the court determines that visitation is in the best interests of the child.

This bill would authorize the grandparent of a child to petition for visitation even if the parent related to the grandparent has given up legal custody, either voluntarily or by court order, or has financially abandoned the child.

This bill would create a rebuttable presumption that the parent or parents with whom the child is living know what is in the best interest of the child. This bill would authorize the court to consider, in determining what is in the best interest of the child, the fact that a parent who is related to a grandparent petitioning for visitation has either given up legal custody voluntarily or by court order or has abandoned the child financially.

To amend Section 30-3-4.1, Code of Alabama 1975; to provide further for circumstances in which a grandparent may petition for and in which a court may award to the grandparent visitation of a minor child; to create a rebuttable presumption that the parent or parents with whom a child is living know what is in the best interest of the child.