Custody

Michigan law allows for a grandparent to file for “grandparenting time” under one of the following circumstances:

• the child’s parents are in the middle of a divorce, separate maintenance, or annulment process in court;
• the child’s parents are divorced, separated under a judgment of separate maintenance, or have had their marriage annulled;
• the grandparent’s son/daughter, who was the child’s parent, died;
• paternity has been established but the child’s parents have never been married and they are not living in the same household;
• legal custody has been given to someone who is not the child’s parent but an adoption process hasn’t been completed;
• the child lives in a home that’s not the home of his/her parents; or
• in the year before filing for grandparenting time, the child lived with the grandparent even if s/he didn’t have custody of the child under a court order.¹

However, if both parents of the child are considered to be fit and they both object to grandparenting time, the grandparent’s petition will be dismissed.²

¹ MCL § 722.27b(1)
² MCL § 722.27b(5)