Family · Grandparent visitation
Grandparent Visitation Rights in North Carolina
When a grandparent can ask a court for visitation with a grandchild in North Carolina, 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 North Carolina
The situations that give a grandparent standing to file, and the limits the court applies before it orders visitation over a parent's objection.
North Carolina’s Chapter 50 provisions are amended periodically. G.S. 50-13.2 was last amended by S.L. 2025-25. Confirm the current text of G.S. 50-13.2, 50-13.2A, and 50-13.5, and recent North Carolina case law, before relying on this.
| When a grandparent can petition | What it means |
|---|---|
| Route 1, ride an existing custody order | G.S. 50-13.2(b1) says an order for custody of a minor child may provide visitation rights for any grandparent as the court, in its discretion, deems appropriate. The operative words are an order for custody, so there must be a custody determination for the visitation to attach to. |
| Route 2, motion in the cause after custody is settled | G.S. 50-13.5(j) applies in any action in which the custody of a minor child has been determined. The grandparent proceeds upon a motion in the cause and a showing of changed circumstances under G.S. 50-13.7. Both elements are required. |
| Route 3, the adoption action, the only standalone suit | G.S. 50-13.2A lets a biological grandparent institute an action for visitation with a child adopted by a stepparent or a relative of the child, where a substantial relationship exists between the grandparent and the child. Procedure, venue, and jurisdiction are as in an action for custody. |
| The merits test is plain best interest | Under G.S. 50-13.2A a court may award visitation if it determines that visitation is in the best interest of the child, with supporting findings of fact. Under G.S. 50-13.2(b1) and 50-13.5(j) the award is expressly discretionary. There is no harm requirement anywhere in Chapter 50. |
| Extended definition of grandparent | Both G.S. 50-13.2(b1) and G.S. 50-13.5(j) carry the same sentence, that grandparent includes a biological grandparent of a child adopted by a stepparent or a relative of the child where a substantial relationship exists between them. |
| What blocks or limits visitation | What it means |
|---|---|
| Stranger adoption is an absolute bar | All three sections repeat the same hard stop. Under no circumstances shall a biological grandparent of a child adopted by adoptive parents, neither of whom is related to the child and where both biological parents’ rights were terminated, be entitled to visitation rights. |
| No intact-family route at all | There is no North Carolina analogue to Georgia’s standalone grandparent action. Where the parents are together, or a single fit parent simply refuses contact and no custody litigation exists, Chapter 50 supplies no grandparent visitation action outside the adoption scenario in G.S. 50-13.2A. |
| The general standing statute is not a back door | G.S. 50-13.1(a) lets any parent, relative, or other person claiming the right to custody institute an action, and says custody includes visitation. But the operative phrase is claiming the right to custody. A grandparent who wants visitation only, without claiming custody, is not asserting the right that section confers. |
| Changed circumstances is a real hurdle | Where custody has already been determined, a grandparent under G.S. 50-13.5(j) must both file a motion in the cause and show changed circumstances under G.S. 50-13.7. That is the same modification threshold a parent faces, and it is a genuine obstacle where nothing has changed except that the grandparent now wants contact. |
What you can do right now
Concrete, neutral steps for a grandparent or a parent in North Carolina. This is legal information, not legal advice.
- Ask first whether a custody case exists
North Carolina grandparent visitation almost always requires an ongoing or decided custody case to attach to. If none exists and there was no stepparent or relative adoption, there may be no route to file.
- Check whether the adoption route fits
If the grandchild was adopted by a stepparent or a relative and you have a substantial relationship with the child, G.S. 50-13.2A gives you the one standalone action. A stranger adoption is an absolute bar.
- Consult a North Carolina family-law attorney
Because the question is mostly about standing rather than proof, a North Carolina attorney can tell you quickly whether Chapter 50 gives you any route at all 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.
→ North Carolina Bar AssociationThis 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 North Carolina get wrong about grandparent visitation
North Carolina is the most restrictive of these four states, and the restriction is structural rather than evidentiary. There is no general standalone grandparent visitation action. A grandparent can reach visitation in only one of three ways. First, if a custody case is already before the court, G.S. 50-13.2(b1) lets the judge write grandparent visitation into the custody order as a discretionary matter. Second, if custody has already been determined, G.S. 50-13.5(j) lets the grandparent move in the cause, but only on a showing of changed circumstances under G.S. 50-13.7. Third, and this is the only true standalone action, G.S. 50-13.2A lets a biological grandparent sue for visitation with a grandchild adopted by a stepparent or a relative, where a substantial relationship exists. Outside those three, a North Carolina grandparent has no statutory route, and all three carry an absolute bar where the child was adopted by adoptive parents unrelated to the child after both biological parents’ rights were terminated. There is no harm standard and no fit-parent presumption anywhere in Chapter 50, because North Carolina does the filtering at the standing stage. That is also why the state barely had to react to Troxel v. Granville. Where an intact fit family is not already in litigation, no grandparent visitation petition can reach it. This is legal information, not legal advice.
Common questions
Can grandparents get court-ordered visitation in North Carolina?
Can North Carolina grandparents sue an intact family?
No. Where the parents are together, or a single fit parent refuses contact and no custody litigation exists, Chapter 50 supplies no grandparent visitation action outside the stepparent or relative adoption scenario in G.S. 50-13.2A.
Does North Carolina require grandparents to prove harm?
No. There is no harm standard in Chapter 50. The merits test, where one is reached, is the ordinary best interest of the child with written findings. North Carolina limits grandparents at the standing stage instead.
What happens after a stranger adoption in North Carolina?
It is an absolute bar. Under no circumstances may a biological grandparent obtain visitation where the child was adopted by adoptive parents unrelated to the child and both biological parents’ rights were terminated.
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.