Courts Allow Grandparents to Visit

What I stumbled upon as I surfed the Web - Grandparents visitation rights and news about British singing sensation of the 1960s, Petula Clark -

Here's a very clear answer to a question popular among grandparents whose families are having some domestic turmoil - divorce, separation, death of a parent - and grandparents worry about visiting their grandchildren:

From a blog from Georgia Family Law, Ten FAQs about family law :

Do grandparents have visitation rights to their grandchildren? Who may petition for visitation? Under what circumstances may a petition be filed?

Traditionally, the common law denied grandparents visitation with a child over a parent’s objections. But since 1965, all 50 states and the District of Columbia have enacted legislation enabling grandparents to petition the courts for visitation rights with grandchildren. The laws do not make granting of visitation rights automatic – they merely give grandparents the right to ask for a visitation order. Source: American Bar Association, Legal Guide for Older Americans, 1997.

Many states permit only grandparents to petition for visitation, but some have extended the right to other relatives, such as great-grandparents, aunts, uncles and siblings, stepparents, and even non-relatives with whom the child has a close relationship. In these and other areas, state law governs. Most commonly, a grandparent (or other permitted third party) may petition for visitation after the death of a parent or upon divorce of the parents. Some statutes allow petitions when a parent is incarcerated, when a child is born out of wedlock, and when the child has previously lived with the grandparent.

And also in the news:

Petula Clark's grandparents died many years ago and she never knew where they were buried. Now she does. It seems Petula is in her mid 70s and still quite active in show business - you go girl.