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Child Custody, Visitation and Grandparents

There was just recently a case out of First District Court of Appeals in Leon County regarding Child Custody, Visitation, and an Out of State Order and Full Faith and Credit. The case involved a grandparent who had a Kentucky court order allowing her visitation with her grandchild. The parents objected to this. The appellate court affirmed the trial court’s order dismissing the parents’ petition for modification seeking to eliminate grandparent visitation.

In Kentucky, the court allowed the grandmother visitation with the child. The parents then moved to Florida. The parties litigated the relocation in Kentucky. The parents tried to register the foreign judgment in Florida. However, because the courts in Kentucky were still litigating the matter, the Florida court would not take jurisdiction of the matter at that time. The court in Kentucky continued the grandmother’s visitation. The Kentucky court said either party may domesticate the Kentucky judgment in Florida. 

The parents filed for divorce a year later. They entered into a settlement agreement divesting the grandmother of visitation rights. The grandmother moved to intervene. She claimed an interest in the proceeding because she had been actively involved in the child’s life and exercised timesharing pursuant to the Kentucky visitation order. 

The court in Amended Final Judgment allowed the grandmother’s visitation rights to continue to be enforced until modified by the court. The parents then sought the complete elimination of the grandmother’s court ordered visitation by filing a petition to modify the visitation. The grandmother filed a motion to dismiss that. 

The court discussed how grandparents’ visitation is far broader in Kentucky than in Florida. The court determined that, in Kentucky, a grandparent may be granted visitation rights as long as the court determines that it is in the best interest of the child to do so. The court explained that the Kentucky policy regarding grandparent visitation rights plainly conflicts with Florida’s. 

The court stated that the Florida Supreme Court has interpreted the Florida state constitution to include a natural parent’s right to rear his or her child without unwanted government interference of his or her own child. However, in spite of this recognized right, the court ruled that it is not for the Florida court to question the wisdom of either the Kentucky grandparent visitation law or the Kentucky order granting it to the grandmother. The Court stated that this is a consequence of the Full Faith and Credit Clause of the United States Constitution. The Court ruled that the Florida Supreme Court had specifically recognized that out of state orders awarding grandparent child visitation are entitled to Full Faith be enforced under the Full Faith and Credit Clause of the United States Constitution. 

 If you have more questions regarding a Marital and Family Law matter, you may call Ann Marie Giordano Gilden at Ann Marie Giordano Gilden, P.A. at 407-732-7620 and set an initial consultation. You may also visit my website at: https://www.annmariegildenlaw.com 

This article is for informational purposes only and does not form an attorney client privilege.