HB 121 2025
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to grandparent visitation; amending s. 2
752.011, F.S.; revising the criteria required for the 3
grandparent of a minor child to petition the court for 4
grandparent visitation; providing an effective date. 5
6
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 7
8
Section 1. Section 752.011, Florida Statutes, is amended 9
to read: 10
752.011 Petition for grandparent visitation with a minor 11
child.—A grandparent of a minor child whose parents are 12
deceased, missing, or in a persistent vegetative state, or whose 13
one parent is deceased, missing, or in a persistent vegetative 14
state and whose other parent has been convicted of a felony or 15
an offense of violence evincing behavior that poses a 16
substantial threat of harm to the minor child's health or 17
welfare, may petition the court for court -ordered visitation 18
with the grandchild under this section if the minor child's 19
parents are divorced or if one or bo th of the minor child's 20
parents are deceased, missing, or in a persistent vegetative 21
state. 22
(1) Upon the filing of a petition by a grandparent for 23
visitation, the court shall hold a preliminary hearing to 24
determine whether the petitioner has made a prima facie showing 25
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
that the minor child's parents are divorced or one or both of 26
the minor child's parents are deceased, missing, or in a 27
persistent vegetative state of parental unfitness or significant 28
harm to the child. Absent such a showing, the court shall 29
dismiss the petition and may award reasonable attorney fees and 30
costs to be paid by the petitioner to the respondent. 31
(2) Notwithstanding subsection (1), if the court finds 32
that one parent of a child has been held criminally liable for 33
the death of the other parent of the child or civilly liable for 34
an intentional tort causing the death of the other parent of the 35
child, there is a presumption for granting reasonable visitation 36
with the petitioning grandparent or stepgrandparent if he or she 37
is the parent of the child's deceased parent. This presumption 38
may only be overcome if the court finds that granting such 39
visitation is not in the best interests of the child. 40
(2)(3) If the court finds that there is prima facie 41
evidence that the minor child's parents are divorced or one or 42
both of the minor child's parents are deceased, missing, or in a 43
persistent vegetative state a parent is unfit or that there is 44
significant harm to the child , the court may appoint a guardian 45
ad litem and must shall refer the matter to family mediation as 46
provided in s. 752.015. If family mediation does not 47
successfully resolve the issue of grandparent visitation, the 48
court must shall proceed with a final hearing. 49
(3)(4) After conducting a final hearing on the issue of 50
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
visitation, the court may award reasonable visitation to the 51
grandparent with respect to the minor child if the court finds 52
by clear and convincing evidence that the minor child's parents 53
are divorced or one or both of the minor child's parents are 54
deceased, missing, or in a persistent vegetative state a parent 55
is unfit or that there is significant harm to the child , that 56
visitation is in the best interest of the minor child, and that 57
the visitation will not materially harm the parent -child 58
relationship, if one exists. 59
(4)(5) In assessing the best interests of the child under 60
subsection (3) (4), the court shall consider the totality of the 61
circumstances affecting the mental and emotional well -being of 62
the minor child, including: 63
(a) The love, affection, and other em otional ties existing 64
between the minor child and the grandparent, including those 65
resulting from the relationship that had been previously allowed 66
by the child's parent. 67
(b) The length and quality of the previous relationship 68
between the minor child and the grandparent, including the 69
extent to which the grandparent was involved in providing 70
regular care and support for the child. 71
(c) Whether the grandparent established ongoing personal 72
contact with the minor child before the parents divorced, before 73
the death of the parent, before the onset of the parent's 74
persistent vegetative state, or before the parent was missing. 75
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(d) The reasons cited by the respondent parent in ending 76
contact or visitation between the minor child and the 77
grandparent. 78
(e) Whether there has been significant and demonstrable 79
mental or emotional harm to the minor child as a result of the 80
disruption in the family unit, whether the child derived support 81
and stability from the grandparent, and whether the continuation 82
of such support and stability is likely to prevent further harm. 83
(f) The existence or threat to the minor child of mental 84
injury as defined in s. 39.01. 85
(g) The present mental, physical, and emotional health of 86
the minor child. 87
(h) The present mental, physical, and emotional health of 88
the grandparent. 89
(i) The recommendations of the minor child's guardian ad 90
litem, if one is appointed. 91
(j) The result of any psychological evaluation of the 92
minor child. 93
(k) The preference of the minor child if the child is 94
determined to be of sufficient maturity to express a preference. 95
(l) A written testamentary statement by the deceased 96
parent regarding visitation with the grandparent. The absence of 97
a testamentary statement is not deemed to provide evidence that 98
the deceased or missing parent or parent in a persistent 99
vegetative state would have objected to the requested 100
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visitation. 101
(m) Other factors that the court considers necessary to 102
making its determination. 103
(5)(6) In assessing material harm to the parent -child 104
relationship under subsection (3) (4), the court shall consider 105
the totality of the circumstances affecting the parent -child 106
relationship, including: 107
(a) Whether there have been previous disputes between the 108
grandparent and the parent over childrearing or other matters 109
related to the care and upbringing of the minor child. 110
(b) Whether visitation would materially interfere with or 111
compromise parental authority. 112
(c) Whether visitation can be arranged in a manner that 113
does not materially detract from the parent -child relationship, 114
including the quantity of time available for enjoyment of the 115
parent-child relationship and any other consideration related to 116
disruption of the schedule and routine of the parent and the 117
minor child. 118
(d) Whether visitation is being sought for the primary 119
purpose of continuing or establishing a relationship with the 120
minor child with the intent that the child benefit from the 121
relationship. 122
(e) Whether the requested visitation would expose the 123
minor child to conduct, moral standards, experiences, or other 124
factors that are inconsistent with influences provided by the 125
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parent. 126
(f) The nature of the relationship between the child's 127
parent and the grandparent. 128
(g) The reasons cited by the parent in ending contact or 129
visitation between t he minor child and the grandparent which was 130
previously allowed by the parent. 131
(h) The psychological toll of visitation disputes on the 132
minor child. 133
(i) Other factors that the court considers necessary in 134
making its determination. 135
(6)(7) Part II of chapter 61 applies to actions brought 136
under this section. 137
(7)(8) If actions under this section and s. 61.13 are 138
pending concurrently, the courts are strongly encouraged to 139
consolidate the actions in order to minimize the burden of 140
litigation on the minor child and the other parties. 141
(8)(9) An order for grandparent visitation may be modified 142
upon a showing by the person petitioning for modification that a 143
substantial change in circumstances has occurred and that 144
modification of visitation is in the best i nterest of the minor 145
child. 146
(9)(10) An original action requesting visitation under 147
this section may be filed by a grandparent only once during any 148
2-year period, except on good cause shown that the minor child 149
is suffering, or may suffer, significant and demonstrable mental 150
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or emotional harm caused by a parental decision to deny 151
visitation between a minor child and the grandparent, which was 152
not known to the grandparent at the time of filing an earlier 153
action. 154
(10)(11) This section does not provide for grandparent 155
visitation with a minor child placed for adoption under chapter 156
63 except as provided in s. 752.071 with respect to adoption by 157
a stepparent or close relative. 158
(11)(12) Venue shall be in the county where the minor 159
child primarily resides, unl ess venue is otherwise governed by 160
chapter 39, chapter 61, or chapter 63. 161
Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2025. 162