Grandparent Visitation

Under the constantly evolving laws of grandparent visitation, the case of Mizrahi v. Cannon was recently decided by the Appellate Division of the Superior Court of New Jersey.

In that case, grandparents were seeking visitation under the grandparent visitation statute, and over the objection of the natural parent. The Court determined that the grandparent must establish that by denying visitation, a particular identifiable harm, specific to the child, to justify interference with the parent’s fundamental due process right to raise a child free from judicial interference. In this particular case, the grandparents failed to establish that any harm would occur.

A review of the facts demonstrates how fact sensitive each case is. In the particular case decided, the grandparents had only a few interactions with the grandchild per year. It was determined that they were unable to demonstrate that harm would come to the child if their visitation did not continue.

This in no way should be taken to mean that grandparents who have an ongoing and lasting relationship with a grandchild have no statutory or case law rights. If they are able to demonstrate that the relationship is close enough, and consistent, their rights under the grandparent statue may still be upheld.