Grandparent Visitation Petition - Rhode Island

PETITION FOR GRANDPARENT VISITATION

(Rhode Island — R.I. Gen. Laws § 15-5-24.3)

I. PARTIES

1.1 Petitioner(s) — Grandparent(s)

Co-Petitioner (spouse / other grandparent), if applicable:

1.2 Respondent(s) — Parent(s) / Custodian

1.3 The Minor Child

II. JURISDICTION AND VENUE

2.1 Subject-matter jurisdiction. The Rhode Island Family Court has jurisdiction over this miscellaneous petition under R.I. Gen. Laws § 15-5-24.3(a)(1), which authorizes the Family Court, upon miscellaneous petition of a grandparent for visitation rights with the petitioner's grandchild, upon notice to both parents of the child, and after a hearing, to grant reasonable rights of visitation of the grandchild to the petitioner.

2.2 UCCJEA home state. Rhode Island is the home state of the minor child under the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act, R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 15-14.1-1 et seq., because:

☐ The child has lived in Rhode Island with a parent or person acting as a parent for at least six (6) consecutive months immediately before the filing of this Petition; or

☐ Rhode Island was the child's home state within six (6) months before filing and a parent or person acting as a parent continues to live in this State; or

☐ Other basis: [____________]

2.3 Venue. Venue is proper in this County because the minor child resides in this County.

2.4 Other proceedings.

☐ There are no other pending or prior proceedings concerning the custody or visitation of the minor child.

☐ There are other proceedings — Court: [____________]; Case No.: [____________]; Nature: [____________].

III. STANDING — STATUTORY BASIS

3.1 Petitioner is a grandparent of the minor child within the meaning of R.I. Gen. Laws § 15-5-24.3 and brings this miscellaneous petition for reasonable rights of visitation with the grandchild.

3.2 Context of the petition (check all that apply):

☐ An action for divorce or separation between the child's parents is pending or has been concluded.

☐ One or both of the child's parents is deceased (Petitioner may also rely on R.I. Gen. Laws § 15-5-24.1).

☐ The parents are living separately or one parent has prevented contact between Petitioner and the child.

☐ Other circumstance: [____________]

IV. FACTUAL ALLEGATIONS

4.1 History of the relationship. Petitioner has had the following relationship with the minor child:

[____________________________________________________________]

4.2 Repeated attempts to visit in the 30 days before filing — § 15-5-24.3(a)(2)(iii). During the thirty (30) days immediately preceding the date this Petition was filed, Petitioner repeatedly attempted to visit the grandchild and was NOT allowed to do so as a direct result of the actions of either or both parents, as follows:

[____________________________________________________________]

4.3 No other way to visit without court intervention — § 15-5-24.3(a)(2)(iv). There is no other way Petitioner is able to visit the grandchild without intervention of this Court, because:

[____________________________________________________________]

4.4 Fitness of Petitioner — § 15-5-24.3(a)(2)(ii). Petitioner is a fit and proper person to have visitation rights with the grandchild, as follows:

[____________________________________________________________]

V. CONSTITUTIONAL AND STATUTORY STANDARD

5.1 Special weight to a fit parent's decision (Troxel). Petitioner acknowledges that parents have a fundamental constitutional right to make decisions concerning the care, custody, and control of their children, and that a fit parent's decision regarding visitation is entitled to special weight. Troxel v. Granville, 530 U.S. 57 (2000).

5.2 Presumption that the parent's decision was reasonable — § 15-5-24.3(a)(2)(v). Petitioner acknowledges there is a presumption that the parent's decision to refuse Petitioner visitation with the grandchild was reasonable.

5.3 Burden of proof — clear and convincing evidence. To obtain visitation, Petitioner must establish, and is prepared to prove, the following findings of fact, which the Court must set forth in writing under § 15-5-24.3(a)(2):

(i) That it is in the best interest of the grandchild, determined on a case-by-case basis, that Petitioner be granted visitation (Section VI);

(ii) That Petitioner is a fit and proper person to have visitation rights;

(iii) That Petitioner repeatedly attempted to visit the grandchild during the thirty (30) days immediately preceding the filing of this Petition and was not allowed to do so as a direct result of the actions of either or both parents;

(iv) That there is no other way Petitioner is able to visit the grandchild without court intervention; and

(v) That Petitioner has, by clear and convincing evidence, successfully rebutted the presumption that the parent's decision to refuse grandparent visitation was reasonable.

5.4 Rebuttal of reasonableness — § 15-5-24.3(a)(2)(v). Petitioner alleges, and is prepared to prove by clear and convincing evidence, that the parent's decision to refuse visitation was NOT reasonable, for the following reasons:

[____________________________________________________________]

VI. BEST INTEREST OF THE CHILD — § 15-5-24.3(a)(2)(i)

6.1 In considering whether grandparent visitation is in the child's best interest, the Court shall consider all relevant factors, including but not limited to the following. Petitioner alleges:

☐ (A) The nature of the relationship between the child and Petitioner: [____________]

☐ (B) The amount of time Petitioner and the child have spent together: [____________]

☐ (C) The potential detriments and benefits to the child from granting visitation: [____________]

☐ (D) The potential effect of granting visitation on the parent-child relationship: [____________]

☐ (E) The preferences of the grandchild, if of sufficient intelligence, understanding, and experience to express a preference: [____________]

☐ (F) The reasons the parent(s) believe it is not in the child's best interest to have visitation with Petitioner, and why those reasons do not control: [____________]

6.2 Child's preference (if of sufficient age and maturity).

☐ The child has expressed a desire to maintain a relationship with Petitioner: [____________]

☐ The child is too young or immature to express a preference.

VII. PROPOSED VISITATION SCHEDULE

7.1 Regular visitation. Petitioner requests:

☐ Weekly: [____________] ☐ Monthly: [____________] ☐ Other: [____________]

7.2 Holidays and special occasions.

7.3 Transportation / exchange. [____________]

7.4 Communication. Telephone/video contact: [____________]

VIII. PRAYER FOR RELIEF

WHEREFORE, Petitioner respectfully requests that this Court:

A. Set this matter for hearing upon notice to both parents of the child;

B. Find, and set forth in writing, each of the findings of fact required by R.I. Gen. Laws § 15-5-24.3(a)(2)(i)–(v), including that Petitioner has, by clear and convincing evidence, rebutted the presumption that the parent's decision to refuse visitation was reasonable;

C. Enter an order granting Petitioner reasonable rights of visitation with the minor child pursuant to the schedule in Section VII, or as the Court deems just;

D. Issue any necessary orders to enforce the visitation granted, including the requirement that notice of any future petition seeking a change in custody or visitation be served on Petitioner (§ 15-5-24.3(c)); and

E. Grant such other and further relief as the Court deems just and proper.

IX. VERIFICATION

STATE OF RHODE ISLAND )
COUNTY OF [____________] )

I, [PETITIONER NAME], being first duly sworn, state that I am the Petitioner in this action; that I have read the foregoing Petition; and that the facts stated therein are true and correct to the best of my knowledge, information, and belief.

_________________________________
[PETITIONER NAME], Petitioner

Subscribed and sworn to before me this ___ day of __________, 20___.

_________________________________
Notary Public
My Commission Expires: ___________

X. SIGNATURE

Respectfully submitted this ___ day of __________, 20___.

_________________________________
[PETITIONER NAME], Pro Se
OR
_________________________________
[ATTORNEY NAME], R.I. Bar No. [____________]
[FIRM NAME]
[ADDRESS] | [PHONE] | [EMAIL]
Attorney for Petitioner

XI. NOTICE TO RESPONDENT

TO THE RESPONDENT(S): A Petition for Grandparent Visitation has been filed concerning the above-named minor child. You are entitled to notice of and a hearing on this Petition. You may file a written response with the Clerk of the Family Court and appear at the hearing to be heard. You have the right to be represented by an attorney. If you fail to appear, the Court may proceed in your absence.

XII. CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I certify that on [__/__/____] a true and correct copy of the foregoing Petition (and accompanying UCCJEA affidavit) was served upon each Respondent (both parents) by ☐ personal service ☐ certified mail ☐ service of process server ☐ other [____________], at the address(es) listed above.

_________________________________
[PETITIONER / ATTORNEY SIGNATURE]

SOURCES & REFERENCES

• R.I. Gen. Laws § 15-5-24.3 — Visitation rights — Grandparents and siblings: miscellaneous petition and notice to both parents (a)(1); required written findings (a)(2)(i)–(v), including best-interest factors (i)(A)–(F), fitness (ii), repeated 30-day attempts (iii), no other way to visit (iv), and clear-and-convincing rebuttal of the reasonableness presumption (v); attorney's-fee exposure on denial (vi); enforcement and notice of later petitions (c).
• R.I. Gen. Laws § 15-5-24.1 — separate authority for visitation where the grandparent's child (the child's parent) is deceased.
• Troxel v. Granville, 530 U.S. 57 (2000) — a fit parent's decision regarding visitation is entitled to special weight.
• R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 15-14.1-1 et seq. — Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act; § 15-14.1-21 (affidavit).

This Petition is a preparation aid only. Rhode Island grandparent visitation law is among the most protective of parental decisions in the country: the petitioner must obtain written findings on every statutory element and must rebut, by clear and convincing evidence, the presumption that the parent's refusal was reasonable — and faces possible attorney's-fee liability if the petition is denied. Consult a licensed Rhode Island family law attorney before filing.