Bill > H1540

This bill proposes to amend existing law, specifically Chapter 119, Section 39D, to grant visitation rights to great-grandparents, similar to those already available to grandparents. The bill outlines specific circumstances under which great-grandparents can petition the probate and family court for visitation, including situations where the child's parents are divorced, living apart, one or both are deceased, or if the child was born out of wedlock and paternity has been established. The court can grant these visitation rights if it finds them to be in the child's best interest. Importantly, for maternal great-grandparents seeking visitation, an adjudication or acknowledgment of paternity is not required. The bill also clarifies that if a child is adopted by someone other than a step-parent, any existing great-grandparent visitation rights will terminate. Petitions for visitation should be filed in the county where related legal actions like divorce or paternity cases were filed, or in the county where the child resides if the initial judgment was made outside the Commonwealth.