Custody

Grandparent Visitation in Tennessee

Once again an Attorney General's opinion has turned out to be wrong. The Western Section Court of Appeals has held the Tennessee Grandparent visitation law to be unconstitutional. The case is Ellsion v. Ellison with which the Middle Section agreed in Cruse v. Peak.   The U. S. Supreme Court, in Troxel v. Granville, has upheld the State of Washington's Supreme Court's ruling that its grandparent visitation law is unconstitutional. This law was much like Tennessee's original grandparent visitation law, which the Court felt was overly broad. The opinion is narrowly drawn with three dissents and two concurring opinions and does not necessarily effect other States' grandparent visitation laws. Meanwhile Tennessee has passed yet another version of its grandparent visitation law in an effort to comply with the Courts' rulings. Click here to see the latest Tennessee Grandparent visitation law in pdf format.