Family · Grandparent visitation
Grandparent Visitation Rights in Michigan
When a grandparent can ask a court for visitation with a grandchild in Michigan, who has standing to file, what they must prove, and the special weight the court must give a fit parent's decision. Cited to the statute.
When a grandparent can petition in Michigan
The situations that give a grandparent standing to file, and the limits the court applies before it orders visitation over a parent's objection.
Michigan’s grandparenting time statute was rewritten after being struck down under Troxel, and it carries its own fallback standard. The text read here is complete through PA 20 of 2026. Confirm the current MCL 722.27b before relying on it.
| When a grandparent can petition | What it means |
|---|---|
| Six triggering circumstances, one is enough | MCL 722.27b(1) lists them. A divorce, separate maintenance, or annulment action involving the parents is pending. The parents are already divorced, separated by judgment, or annulled. The grandparent’s own child, a parent of the child, is deceased. The parents never married, do not live together, and paternity is established. Legal custody went to a non-parent or the child lives outside a parent’s home. Or in the preceding year the grandparent provided the child’s established custodial environment. |
| Rebut the presumption first, best interest second | MCL 722.27b(4)(b) presumes a fit parent’s decision to deny grandparenting time does not create a substantial risk of harm. The grandparent must rebut that by a preponderance of the evidence. Only if the presumption falls does the court reach the ten best-interest factors in MCL 722.27b(6). |
| Where to file, with an affidavit | MCL 722.27b(3) has the grandparent file a motion where the circuit court has continuing jurisdiction, or a complaint where the child resides otherwise. Under (4)(a) the filing must be accompanied by an affidavit setting out supporting facts, with notice to each person who has custody or parenting time. |
| Filing frequency cap | MCL 722.27b(8) says a grandparent may not file more than once every two years absent a showing of good cause. The court may order reasonable attorney fees to the prevailing party, which cuts both ways. |
| The court must show its work | MCL 722.27b(12) requires the court to make a record of its analysis and findings under subsections (4), (6), (8), and (11), including the reasons for granting or denying the requested order. |
| What blocks or limits visitation | What it means |
|---|---|
| Two fit parents can end it outright | MCL 722.27b(5) is the strongest parental veto of these four states. If two fit parents sign an affidavit stating that they both oppose an order for grandparenting time, the court shall dismiss the complaint or motion, with no hearing and no weighing. A narrow carve-out exists where one fit parent is a stepparent who adopted the child. |
| The statute carries its own fallback standard | MCL 722.27b(4)(c) anticipates that the preponderance burden might be held unconstitutional. If an appellate court so holds in a final and nonappealable judgment, the standard automatically becomes clear and convincing evidence. The statute self-heals rather than falling. |
| Unmarried father’s parents face an extra gate | MCL 722.27b(2) bars the parent of a never-married father from seeking an order unless the father completed an acknowledgment of parentage, an order of filiation was entered, or he was adjudicated the father. For a putative father, he must have provided substantial and regular support or care. |
| Adoption terminates the right to commence | MCL 722.27b(13) says adoption of the child, or placement for adoption, under the Michigan adoption code terminates a grandparent’s right to commence an action. The exception is a stepparent adoption, which does not terminate the right of the parent of a deceased parent of the child. |
What you can do right now
Concrete, neutral steps for a grandparent or a parent in Michigan. This is legal information, not legal advice.
- Confirm one of the six circumstances applies
A Michigan grandparent facing married, living, cohabiting parents has no qualifying circumstance. Check MCL 722.27b(1) first, since without one of the six there is no route to file.
- Prepare to prove a substantial risk of harm
The affidavit and your evidence must go to harm, not just to a loving relationship. You carry the burden by a preponderance to rebut the presumption that a fit parent’s denial is harmless.
- Know that two fit parents can dismiss the case
If both fit parents sign an affidavit opposing grandparenting time, the court must dismiss. A Michigan family-law attorney can tell you whether that veto is likely in your situation.
Grandparent visitation is decided case by case and turns on standing and the child's best interest. A licensed family-law attorney can explain your options; the state bar can refer you to one.
→ State Bar of MichiganThis is general legal information, not legal advice. Standing and the standard turn on the exact statute, current case law, and the facts of your family, so confirm your situation against the statute and talk to a lawyer.
What families in Michigan get wrong about grandparent visitation
A Michigan grandparent may seek a grandparenting time order only if one of six listed circumstances in MCL 722.27b(1) exists, and every one of them means the family is already legally fractured. A divorce, separate maintenance, or annulment action involving the parents is pending or concluded, or the grandparent’s own child who is the child’s parent has died, or the parents never married and do not live together with paternity established, or legal custody has gone to a non-parent, or the grandparent provided the child’s established custodial environment in the past year. Michigan then applies the sharpest Troxel rule of these four states. Under MCL 722.27b(4)(b) it is presumed that a fit parent’s decision to deny grandparenting time does not create a substantial risk of harm to the child, and the grandparent must rebut that presumption by a preponderance of the evidence or the court must dismiss. Only if the presumption falls does the court reach the ten best-interest factors in subsection (6). Two further gates sit on top. If two fit parents both sign an affidavit opposing the order, MCL 722.27b(5) requires dismissal outright, and the parents of a never-married father face an extra standing gate. The statute even carries a self-healing fallback in (4)(c), raising the burden to clear and convincing evidence if the preponderance standard is ever held unconstitutional. This is legal information, not legal advice.
Common questions
Can grandparents get court-ordered visitation in Michigan?
Only in six situations. MCL 722.27b(1) allows a grandparenting time request where the family is already fractured, such as a pending or concluded divorce, a deceased parent, or a non-parent having custody. A grandparent facing married, cohabiting parents has no qualifying circumstance.
What must a Michigan grandparent prove?
They must rebut, by a preponderance of the evidence, the presumption that a fit parent’s denial does not create a substantial risk of harm to the child. If they do not, MCL 722.27b(4)(b) requires the court to dismiss before best interest is ever reached.
Can two Michigan parents block grandparent visitation?
Yes, decisively. Under MCL 722.27b(5), if two fit parents sign an affidavit stating they both oppose an order for grandparenting time, the court must dismiss the case, with no hearing and no weighing.
Why does Michigan use a harm standard?
The earlier statute was struck down under Troxel v. Granville in DeRose v. DeRose. The legislature rewrote it in 2004 to add the fit-parent presumption and a substantial-risk-of-harm burden, and even built in a fallback to clear and convincing evidence.
Not legal advicePlainStatute provides plain-language summaries of public law for general information only. This is not legal advice. Statutes change; always confirm current requirements with the official source linked above before acting.