Archives: Grandparent Rights

After a year of writing this column for the Wisconsin Law Journal, it is time to take a look back at the main issues for the year.

Should courts ever grant grandparents’ visitation rights against parents’ wishes?

The WI Supreme Court recently heard oral arguments in a grandparent-visitation case that might affect the law in an important and highly emotional area.

On March 1, 2018, Loeb & Herman will debut Wisconsin Family Law Case Finder, a subscription based legal research service specifically designed for family law attorneys.

Will the Wisconsin Supreme Court’s decision in In re Meister expand grandparent visitation litigation in Wisconsin?

Wisconsin Supreme Court expands the law of grandparent visitation, perhaps at the expense of children.

Wisconsin Supreme Court reverses Court of Appeals in grandparent visitiation case.

One of the most difficult and emotional issues in this field is grandparent visitation. Often, grandparents serve as surrogate parents and are very close to their grandchildren. Yesterday, the Wisconsin Supreme Court accepted review for the first time in a grandparent visitation case.

On the other hand, one’s heart has to go out to grandparents who have lost a child through death and then run the risk of losing their grandchildren due to the capriciousness of the surviving parent. Yet both sides cannot be right.

Wisconsin law is a mixture of different standing requirements and standards for grandparent visitation and other third-party intervention. Thus, some of these statutes are vulnerable to constitutional attack in light of the U.S. Supreme Court decision.