Janelle Irwin Taylor
Sen. Danny Burgess has filed legislation (SB 124) expanding access for grandparents to petition for visitation of their grandchildren, an expansion of previous legislation passed in 2022 that provided such opportunity under limited circumstances.
Rep. Jose Alvarez has filed similar legislation (HB 121) in the House.
Under the 2022 legislation, championed by then-Rep. Jackie Toledo, grandparents could petition for visitation in cases where one parent was found criminally liable for the death of the other parent. Burgess’ legislation would expand on that by allowing grandparents to petition for visitation if one parent is “deceased, missing, or in a persistent vegetative state” under a variety of additional circumstances.
That includes if the child lived with the grandparent for at least six months during the 12-month period before the parent’s death, disappearance or injury; or if eliminating contact with the grandparent “would pose a substantial threat of harm to the physical, mental, or emotional well-being of the child.”
“Grandparents and their grandchildren often share a special and meaningful bond that provides each with love and support. In tragic circumstances where a parent has passed away, a child’s relationship with their grandparents can become even more important to both,” Burgess said of his bill.
“That’s why I filed Senate Bill 124 this Session, to allow courts to consider what is best for the overall well-being of the vulnerable children in this situation and establish grandparents’ visitation rights when appropriate. It is my hope that this will provide an opportunity for families who have already lost so much to remain in contact with their loved ones so they may continue to nurture this important relationship.”
The proposed legislation leaves intact the existing process for petitioning for visitation and other circumstances for which doing so is permissible, including if a parent is convicted of a felony or other violent offense that would pose a threat to the child.
Under existing law, which Burgess’ bill does not change, grandparents petitioning for visitation must provide evidence that visitation is in the child’s best interest.
The law was amended through Toledo’s legislation in 2022 after a law professor at Florida State University, Dan Markel, was shot to death in the driveway at his home in 2014 in what has been described as a murder-for-hire scheme resulting from a custody dispute between Markel and his ex-wife, Wendi Adelson.
Markel’s parents, Ruth and Phil, were kept for years from their two grandsons with no legal recourse to seek visitation. Since the bill’s passage, which was named the “Markel Act,” the Markel family has reportedly been able to visit their grandsons three times.
