In Florida there are a few limited ways in which a grandparent may bring a legal action to assert rights for visitation and / or custody of their grandchild(ren).
Florida Statute 39.509 governs a grandparent’s rights in the event the children are removed from the custody of a natural parent(s), and have been found to be ‘dependent’. A grandparent, including a step grandparent may be entitled to court-ordered visitation with their grandchild(ren), if the court determines that such visitation is in the child(ren)’s best interests. A pleading must be filed requesting such visitation rights and a hearing will be scheduled before the court.
Other circumstances may allow a grandparent to assert visitation / custody rights in the event both parents are deceased, missing, or in a permanent vegetative state, OR if one parent is deceased, missing, or in a permanent vegetative state and the other parent has been convicted of a violent felony. The grandparents will be required to file an appropriate petition and appear at a court hearing to assert their rights.
In June 2022, Governor DeSantis signed a bill into law which expanded a grandparent’s rights to assert a claim of custody and / or visitation, but only in tragic circumstances. The ‘Markel Act’, signed into law on June 24, 2022, creates a rebuttable presumption for a grandparent to assert rights to custody of their grandchild(ren) when one parent has been found criminally liable for the death of the other parent.
The Act was named for Florida State University law professor, Dan Markle. In 2014 Professor Markel was found shot to death in the driveway of his home in Tallahassee. Subsequent investigation raised suspicion that Professor Markel’s soon-to-be ex-wife’s family had hired the gunman. Professor Markel’s parents championed the bill which expanded grandparents’ rights in such tragic circumstances.
Other than these few exceptions, Florida law also provides for ‘Custody by a Family Member’. Our firm has brought many such causes to trial and we have had success in obtaining verdicts that awarded custody to our grandparent clients.
Call us at Lisa York Law if your case for asserting your rights as a grandparent meets the statutory criteria either under Grandparent Rights, or under the Custody by Family Member statutes. We offer free 30-minute telephone consultations. Give us a call at (850) 474-1115 to schedule.
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