Grandparent Visitation Petition - Louisiana

PETITION FOR GRANDPARENT VISITATION

(State of Louisiana — [PARISH] District Court)

COURT CAPTION

Docket No.: [____________] Division: [____________]

PETITION FOR REASONABLE VISITATION RIGHTS OF GRANDPARENT

I. PARTIES

1.1 Petitioner (Grandparent)

1.2 Co-Petitioner (Other Grandparent, if any)

1.3 Defendant(s) (Parent(s) / Custodian)

1.4 Minor Child(ren)

II. JURISDICTION AND VENUE

2.1 Petitioner seeks visitation under the statutory ground selected in Section III, subject to this Court's jurisdiction over the child and any existing custody or visitation order.

2.2 UCCJEA basis (select and complete the supported ground). ☐ This is an initial child custody determination under La. R.S. 13:1813(A)([1/2/3/4]); the facts supporting that specific ground, including any other state's jurisdiction or declination, are: [____________________________________________________________]. ☐ A custody or visitation determination already exists in [court, state, docket, date: __________]; the basis on which this Court may hear the requested visitation is [____________________________________________________________].

2.3 Venue. The basis for filing in the [____] Judicial District Court, Parish of [PARISH], including the place of any existing proceeding, is [____________________________________________________________].

2.4 Petitioner provides the information required by La. R.S. 13:1821 under oath in Section IX. Any protected identifying information shall be presented to the Court as subsection E permits.

III. STANDING AND STATUTORY GROUND (Select the applicable track)

3.1 Standing. Petitioner is the grandparent of the minor child(ren), being the parent of [name], the [mother/father] of the child(ren).

3.2 Track A — La. R.S. 9:344 (parents married / not divorced / in concubinage). Use this track only if the parents are or were married and have not filed for divorce, or live in concubinage. (Check the applicable subsection):

☐ § 9:344(A): A party to the marriage (the parent who is Petitioner's child) is deceased, interdicted, or incarcerated, and there is a minor child of the marriage; Petitioner, as the parent of the deceased/interdicted/incarcerated party without custody, seeks reasonable visitation in the child's best interest.

☐ § 9:344(B): The parents live(d) in concubinage and one parent (Petitioner's child) is deceased or incarcerated; Petitioner seeks reasonable visitation in the child's best interest.

☐ § 9:344(D): The married parents have lived apart for at least six (6) months, and extraordinary circumstances exist (including a court determination that a parent is abusing a controlled dangerous substance); Petitioner seeks reasonable visitation in the child's best interest, applying the factors in La. Civ. Code art. 136(D).

3.3 Track B — La. Civ. Code art. 136(B)(1). Use this track only if the parents have filed a petition for divorce or the facts satisfy the marital and cohabitation condition in art. 136(B); art. 136(E) sends married parents with no divorce filing, and parents living in concubinage, to R.S. 9:344. The qualifying facts are [____________]. Petitioner, as a grandparent, seeks reasonable visitation if the Court finds it is in the best interest of the child.

3.4 Article 136(C) — child's attorney. Petitioner acknowledges that, before any determination under art. 136(B)(1) or (2), the Court shall hold a contradictory hearing under La. R.S. 9:345 to determine whether to appoint an attorney to represent the child.

3.5 Under La. R.S. 9:345(B), appointment is required if a party presents a prima facie case at that hearing of the specified abuse or caretaker knowledge of abuse. Petitioner alleges [no such facts / the following facts: __________].

IV. FACTUAL ALLEGATIONS

4.1 Triggering circumstance. [State the facts establishing the selected statutory ground — e.g., the date of the parent's death, the order of interdiction, the dates and place of incarceration, the date the married parents began living apart, the divorce filing, or the parents' unmarried/non-cohabiting status; and, for § 9:344(D) extraordinary circumstances, the facts (such as a court determination of controlled-substance abuse).]

[____________________________________________________________]

4.2 Length and quality of the prior relationship. [Describe the duration and quality of Petitioner's prior relationship with the child(ren): caregiving, time together, holidays/milestones, and Petitioner's role — tracking art. 136(D)(2).]

[____________________________________________________________]

4.3 Circumstances leading to this Petition. [Describe when and why contact was reduced or denied and informal efforts to resolve the matter.]

[____________________________________________________________]

V. CONSTITUTIONAL AND STATUTORY STANDARD

5.1 Parental rights; Troxel "special weight." Petitioner acknowledges that fit parents have a fundamental constitutional right to make decisions concerning the care, custody, and control of their children, and that under Troxel v. Granville, 530 U.S. 57 (2000), a fit parent's decision is entitled to special weight. This principle is codified in La. Civ. Code art. 136(D)(1).

5.2 Best interest. Petitioner asks the Court to find, on the facts alleged and evidence presented, that the requested reasonable visitation is in the best interest of the child, giving the fit parent's decision the weight described above.

VI. BEST-INTEREST FACTORS (La. Civ. Code art. 136(D))

For a claim under art. 136(B)(1) or R.S. 9:344(D), Petitioner alleges that reasonable visitation is in the child's best interest and addresses the five factors listed in art. 136(D):

☐ (1) A parent's fundamental constitutional right to make decisions concerning the care, custody, and control of their children, and the traditional presumption that a fit parent acts in the child's best interest: [address how visitation is consistent with, or overcomes, this presumption] [____________]

☐ (2) The length and quality of the prior relationship between the child and Petitioner: [____________]

☐ (3) Whether the child is in need of guidance, enlightenment, or tutelage which can best be provided by Petitioner: [____________]

☐ (4) The preference of the child, if of sufficient maturity to express one: [____________]

☐ (5) The mental and physical health of the child and of Petitioner: [____________]

VII. REQUESTED VISITATION SCHEDULE

7.1 Regular visitation. Petitioner requests the following reasonable visitation:

☐ Weekly: [days/times] [____________] ☐ Bi-weekly / Monthly: [____________] ☐ Other: [____________]

7.2 Holidays and special occasions.

7.3 Electronic and written contact. ☐ Telephone [____] ☐ Video calls [____] ☐ Mail/cards

7.4 Transportation. Petitioner will provide transportation; proposed exchange location: [____________].

VIII. PRAYER FOR RELIEF

WHEREFORE, Petitioner, [PETITIONER NAME], prays that:

1. This Petition be filed and served upon the Defendant(s);

2. The Court take jurisdiction and find that Petitioner has standing under [☐ La. R.S. 9:344 / ☐ La. Civ. Code art. 136(B)(1)] as selected in Section III;

3. If the art. 136(B)(1) ground is selected, the Court hold the contradictory hearing required by art. 136(C) and La. R.S. 9:345 to determine whether to appoint an attorney to represent the child; if the statutory abuse threshold is met, appoint counsel under R.S. 9:345(B);

4. After hearing, the Court find that reasonable grandparent visitation is in the best interest of the child(ren), applying art. 136(D) where that article governs or where R.S. 9:344(D) incorporates those factors;

5. The Court render judgment granting Petitioner reasonable visitation with the minor child(ren) on the schedule in Section VII, or as the Court deems just, together with reasonable telephone, video, and written contact;

6. Costs be assessed as the Court deems equitable; and

7. The Court grant all other relief that is just, equitable, and proper.

Respectfully submitted,

_________________________________
[ATTORNEY NAME], La. Bar Roll No. [______]
[FIRM] · [ADDRESS] · [PHONE] · [EMAIL]
Attorney for Petitioner
(or Petitioner, In Proper Person)

IX. VERIFICATION

Sworn information under La. R.S. 13:1821 (complete for each child; attach a sworn continuation if needed):

1. Child's current address or whereabouts: [____________]. Places the child lived during the last five years, dates, and names and present addresses of the persons with whom the child lived: [____________________________________________________________].
2. Other custody or visitation proceeding in which Petitioner participated in any capacity: ☐ None ☐ Court, case number, and date of any determination: [____________].
3. Any known proceeding that could affect this case, including enforcement, domestic violence, protective order, termination of parental rights, or adoption: ☐ None ☐ Court, case number, and nature: [____________].
4. Any nonparty with physical custody of the child or claiming custody or visitation rights: ☐ None ☐ Names and addresses: [____________].

STATE OF LOUISIANA, PARISH OF [____________]:

BEFORE ME, the undersigned Notary, personally came and appeared [PETITIONER NAME], who, after being duly sworn, did depose and state that [he/she] is the Petitioner herein; that [he/she] has read the foregoing Petition; and that all of the allegations of fact contained therein are true and correct to the best of [his/her] knowledge, information, and belief.

_________________________________
[PETITIONER NAME]

SWORN TO AND SUBSCRIBED before me this [____] day of [____________], 20[__].

_________________________________
Notary Public — Bar/Notary ID: [__________]
My commission expires: [__________]

X. NOTICE / CITATION TO DEFENDANT(S)

TO THE DEFENDANT(S): The answer period is generally twenty-one (21) days after service of citation, or thirty (30) days when a discovery request is filed and served with the petition; other provisions of La. C.C.P. art. 1001 or a court order may affect the delay. You may consult an attorney and file responsive pleadings.

XI. CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I certify that a copy of this Petition was served upon the Defendant(s) (or requested for service through the Clerk/Sheriff) on [__/__/____], by:

☐ Service through the Clerk of Court / Sheriff ☐ Other lawful method: [____________]

Served upon: [NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES)] [____________________________________]

_________________________________
[NAME]

ATTACHMENTS / EXHIBITS

☐ Sworn continuation of the UCCJEA information in Section IX, if needed (La. R.S. 13:1821)
☐ Exhibit A — death certificate / order of interdiction / proof of incarceration / divorce filing (as applicable to the selected ground)
☐ Exhibit B — supporting evidence of prior relationship (photographs, correspondence, records of caregiving)
☐ Exhibit C — proposed visitation schedule
☐ Any prior court orders concerning the child(ren)
☐ Filing fee or in forma pauperis application

SOURCES & REFERENCES

• La. R.S. 9:344 — Visitation rights of grandparents and siblings (parent deceased/interdicted/incarcerated; concubinage; living apart six months + extraordinary circumstances, applying art. 136(D)).
• La. Civ. Code art. 136 — Award of visitation rights; art. 136(B)(1) (grandparent visitation where parents unmarried/not cohabiting/divorce filed); art. 136(C) (contradictory hearing under R.S. 9:345 re child's attorney); art. 136(D) (exclusive best-interest factors, including the Troxel parental-rights presumption); art. 136(E) (cross-reference to R.S. 9:344 for married/non-divorcing parents).
• La. R.S. 9:345 — Appointment of attorney to represent the child.
• Troxel v. Granville, 530 U.S. 57 (2000) — fit parent's decision entitled to "special weight"; Louisiana's grandparent-visitation laws have been found to satisfy Troxel.
• Louisiana UCCJEA, La. R.S. 13:1801 et seq.

This Petition is provided for informational purposes only. Select the correct statutory track (R.S. 9:344 vs. art. 136) based on the parents' marital status, and consult a Louisiana family law attorney and confirm parish district court rules before filing.