B. Eligibility

To obtain visitation rights under this law, you must be a child's grandparent who has attempted to establish ongoing personal contact with the child and been denied that contact by the child's custodian. Only legally established grandparents are eligible. In other words, step-grandparents and the grandparent of a child whose father has not established his paternity will not be eligible. A petition for visitation rights may be filed during or after a divorce or custody proceeding. If the petition is filed during the proceeding, then any changes to the court's original order will be allowed only upon the grandparent demonstrating a change of circumstances since the divorce or custody decision.

C . Relief Available

If the court finds that visitation has been interfered with and that visitation is in the best interest of the child, the court can order reasonable visitation rights. What is reasonable will depend upon the circumstances of each case. Factors that will be considered include the age of the child, the history and nature of the grandparents' relationship with the child, and how such visitation would affect visitation rights of the custodial and non-custodial parents. Attorney fees may be available in actions where a grandparent has intervened in an existing legal case.