Grandparents’ Rights– Visitation

Arizona Revised Statute 25-409 C-H talks about grandparents visitation rights – where a court has granted the grandparents the right to visitation time with their minor grandchildren.

The superior court may grant visitation rights during the child's minority on a finding that the visitation is in the child's best interests and that any of the following is true:

1. One of the legal parents is deceased or has been missing at least three months. For the purposes of this paragraph, a parent is considered to be missing if the parent's location has not been determined and the parent has been reported as missing to a law enforcement agency.

2. The child was born out of wedlock and the child's legal parents are not married to each other at the time the petition is filed.

3. For grandparent or great-grandparent visitation, the marriage of the parents of the child has been dissolved for at least three months.

4. For in loco parentis (Latin for “in the place of the parent”) visitation, a proceeding for dissolution of marriage or for legal separation of the legal parents is pending at the pending at the time the petition is filed.

If filing the petition, the petitioner (this may be the grandparents) must provide notice of the proceeding, including a copy of the petition and any affidavits or other attachments and serve the notice following all Arizona rules of family law procedure to all of the following:

1. The child's legal parents.

2. A third party who possesses legal decision-making authority over the child or visitation rights.

3. The child's guardian or guardian ad litem.

4. A person or agency that possesses physical custody of the child or claims legal decision-making authority or visitation rights concerning the child.

5. Any other person or agency that has previously appeared in the action.

All visitation rights granted under this statute automatically terminate if the child is adopted or placed for adoption. If the child is removed from an adoptive placement, the court may reinstate the visitation rights. This subsection does not apply if the child is adopted by the spouse of a natural parent after the natural parent remarries.

To read this statute in full:  http://www.azleg.state.az.us/ars/25/00409.htm

You can often contact your county clerk for information on forms to file. 

If in Coconino: http://courts.yavapai.us/selfservicecenter/grandparent-visitation-petition/

In Maricopa:  https://www.superiorcourt.maricopa.gov/sscDocs/packets/drgv1.pdf

In Mohave: http://www.mohavecourts.com/court%20forms/Clerks%20Office/Grandparent%20Visitation/GRInstHowFillOutFormsReqCrtOrd-sc.pdf

In Pima: Ask the court clerk for the modification of third party and grandparent visitation forms.