Relating to the circumstances under which a grandparent or great-grandparent may petition for grandparent and great-grandparent visitation

This bill relates to the granting of grandparent and great-grandparent visitation. The bill provides an additional circumstance under which a grandparent or great-grandparent may petition for visitation. Under the bill, in addition to the situation in which the parent of the minor child, who is the child of the grandparent or the grandchild of the great-grandparent, is deceased, a grandparent or great-grandparent may petition for visitation if the parents of the minor child are divorced or were never married and the parent who is not the child of the grandparent or the grandchild of the great-grandparent has sole custody of the minor child. The bill also provides that if the parent is as described in the additional circumstance provided in the bill, the presumption, that the parent who is being asked to temporarily relinquish care, custody, and control of the minor child to provide visitation is fit to make the decision regarding visitation, may be overcome by demonstrating that the parent relinquished primary care of the minor child to the grandparent or great-grandparent for at least a two-year period during which the parent could not act as a suitable parent to the minor child but the grandparent or great-grandparent provided a stable, nurturing, and secure environment for the minor child to which the minor child became accustomed.