The Joint Committee on Children and Families heard from Bruce Perrone, WV Legal Aid Counsel today. He discussed the issue of grandparents’ rights with the committee.
He explained to the commitee that the decision of “fit” parents would now be considered in court cases involving grandparents attempting to gain visitation rights.
This is to limit the courts’ interference of a “fit” parent’s parenting.
The current statute is that if the parent through whom the grandparent is related is present in the child’s life, then the grandparent shouldn’t need a court order to gain visitation. The grandparent should speak with the parent of the child.
If the parent through whom the grandparent is related is not present in the child’s life, then a court order may be needed to gain visitation with the child.
A protected provision in the law involving grandparents’ rights states that no child shall be called as a witness in these cases and no child shall be asked to make a statement of preference.
Cases can vary due to uniqueness of situations.
During the committee meeting, Sara Jones, Research Analyst for the House Committee on Health and Human Resources, also presented the final report from 2016. She stated there were no committee recommendations for legislation for the 2017 session.
