When a marriage ends in divorce, a parent passes away, or family relationships fracture, grandparents and grandparent visitation rights, are sometimes the ones who lose the most — and have the least legal standing to do anything about it. If you’re a grandparent who has been cut off from your grandchildren, or a parent trying to understand what rights grandparents actually have, Michigan law on this issue is narrower — and more nuanced — than most people expect.

The Starting Point: Parents Have the Right to Make This Call

Michigan courts begin from a strong legal presumption: fit parents get to decide who has access to their children. This isn’t a technicality — it’s rooted in the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2000 decision in Troxel v. Granville, which held that a parent’s right to direct the upbringing of their child is a fundamental liberty interest protected by the Constitution. Any state law that lets a court override a fit parent’s decision about visitation has to clear a high bar.

That means a grandparent can’t simply petition a court because they miss their grandchildren or disagree with a parent’s choices. The law requires something more.

• When Michigan Courts Will Consider a Grandparenting Time Request
• Under Michigan’s Child Custody Act, grandparents may file for court-ordered “grandparenting time” only in specific circumstances, including when:
• The child’s parents are divorced, separated, or have a pending divorce or separate maintenance action
• A parent of the child has died
• The child was born out of wedlock and paternity has been established
• A court has previously granted the grandparent visitation rights that were later modified or revoked
• The grandparent’s child (the child’s parent) has had their parental rights terminated, or
• In the year before filing, the grandparent provided an established custodial environment for the child, regardless of the parents’ marital status

Notably, if both of the child’s parents are married to each other, alive, and retain full custody, a grandparent generally has no standing to request court-ordered visitation at all — the family is presumed intact, and the courts stay out of it.

Overcoming the Presumption: What Grandparents Must Prove

Even when a grandparent has standing to file, they still face the Troxel presumption that a fit parent’s decision to deny visitation is in the child’s best interest. To overcome it, the grandparent must show, by a preponderance of the evidence, that denying grandparenting time creates a substantial risk of harm to the child’s mental, physical, or emotional health.

Courts look at a specific set of factors when weighing this, including:

• The love and emotional ties between the grandparent and child
• The grandparent’s willingness to encourage a close relationship between the child and the parents
• The child’s reasonable preference, if the court considers the child old enough to express one
• The effect of the requested visitation on the child’s relationship with their parents
• The history of contact between the grandparent and grandchild
• Whether the parent’s decision to deny visitation was the result of a parent’s military deployment
• Any history of physical, emotional, or sexual abuse by the grandparent

This is a deliberately demanding standard. The legislature designed it this way precisely because of Troxel — a vague “best interests” test alone wasn’t enough to survive constitutional scrutiny, so Michigan built in the harm-based presumption.

What This Means Practically

For grandparents: a falling-out with your adult child, a personality clash with a new stepparent, or even a parent’s questionable lifestyle choices typically won’t be enough on their own. You’ll need to show a real, demonstrable risk to the child — not just that more time with you would be nice or beneficial. Documentation matters here: a consistent history of involvement, caregiving, and bonding with the grandchild strengthens a petition considerably.

For parents: if a grandparent does file for visitation, understand that the law is largely on your side. Courts are required to give significant deference to your decision-making, and the burden of proof sits squarely with the grandparent. That said, these cases can still be emotionally exhausting and legally complex, especially when there’s a tangled family history involved.

Talk to a Family Law Attorney Before You File — or Respond

Grandparenting time cases sit at an unusual intersection of family law and constitutional law, and the standing requirements alone trip up a lot of petitions before they even get to the merits. Whether you’re a grandparent trying to determine if you even qualify to file, or a parent who’s been served with a petition, getting experienced guidance early can save you significant time, money, and heartache.

At The Mitten Law Firm, we help Downriver families navigate exactly these kinds of difficult, emotionally charged custody and visitation matters. If you’re dealing with a grandparenting time issue, reach out to schedule a free consultation or simply complete the form below.