Florida Senate - 2025 SB 124 By Senator Burgess 23-00403-25 2025124__ 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to grandparent visitation rights; 3 amending s. 752.011, F.S.; authorizing a grandparent 4 of a minor child to petition a court for court-ordered 5 visitation with the child in certain circumstances; 6 making technical changes; reenacting ss. 752.015 and 7 752.071, F.S., relating to mediation of visitation 8 disputes and the effect of adoption by a stepparent or 9 close relative, respectively, to incorporate the 10 amendments made to s. 752.011, F.S., in references 11 thereto; providing an effective date. 12 13 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 14 15 Section 1.Section 752.011, Florida Statutes, is amended to 16 read: 17 752.011Petition for grandparent visitation with a minor 18 child. 19 (1)(a)A grandparent of a minor child whose parents are 20 deceased, missing, or in a persistent vegetative state may 21 petition the court for court-ordered visitation with the child 22 under this section., or 23 (b)A grandparent of a minor child whose one parent is 24 deceased, missing, or in a persistent vegetative state and whose 25 other parent has been convicted of a felony or an offense of 26 violence evincing behavior that poses a substantial threat of 27 harm to the minor childs health or welfare, may petition the 28 court for court-ordered visitation with the child grandchild 29 under this section. 30 (c)A grandparent of a minor child whose one parent is 31 deceased, missing, or in a persistent vegetative state may 32 petition the court for court-ordered visitation with the child 33 under this section if: 34 1.The child resided in the same household as the 35 grandparent for at least 6 months during the 12-month period 36 immediately preceding the parents death, disappearance, or 37 persistent vegetative state; 38 2.The child did not live in the same household as the 39 other parent for at least 6 months during that preceding 12 40 month period; and 41 3.Eliminating the childs contact with the grandparent 42 would pose a substantial threat of harm to the physical, mental, 43 or emotional well-being of the child. 44 (2)(1)Upon the filing of a petition by a grandparent for 45 visitation, the court shall hold a preliminary hearing to 46 determine whether the petitioner has made a prima facie showing 47 of parental unfitness or significant harm to the child. Absent 48 such a showing, the court shall dismiss the petition and may 49 award reasonable attorney fees and costs to be paid by the 50 petitioner to the respondent. 51 (3)(2)Notwithstanding subsection (2)(1), if the court 52 finds that one parent of a child has been held criminally liable 53 for the death of the other parent of the child or civilly liable 54 for an intentional tort causing the death of the other parent of 55 the child, there is a presumption for granting reasonable 56 visitation with the petitioning grandparent or stepgrandparent 57 if he or she is the parent of the childs deceased parent. This 58 presumption may only be overcome if the court finds that 59 granting such visitation is not in the best interests of the 60 child. 61 (4)(3)If the court finds that there is prima facie 62 evidence that a parent is unfit or that there is significant 63 harm to the child, the court may appoint a guardian ad litem and 64 must shall refer the matter to family mediation as provided in 65 s. 752.015. If family mediation does not successfully resolve 66 the issue of grandparent visitation, the court must shall 67 proceed with a final hearing. 68 (5)(4)After conducting a final hearing on the issue of 69 visitation, the court may award reasonable visitation to the 70 grandparent with respect to the minor child if the court finds 71 by clear and convincing evidence that a parent is unfit or that 72 there is significant harm to the child, that visitation is in 73 the best interests interest of the minor child, and that the 74 visitation will not materially harm the parent-child 75 relationship. 76 (6)(5)In assessing the best interests of the child under 77 subsection (5) (4), the court shall consider the totality of the 78 circumstances affecting the mental and emotional well-being of 79 the minor child, including: 80 (a)The love, affection, and other emotional ties existing 81 between the minor child and the grandparent, including those 82 resulting from the relationship that had been previously allowed 83 by the childs parent. 84 (b)The length and quality of the previous relationship 85 between the minor child and the grandparent, including the 86 extent to which the grandparent was involved in providing 87 regular care and support for the child. 88 (c)Whether the grandparent established ongoing personal 89 contact with the minor child before the death of the parent, 90 before the onset of the parents persistent vegetative state, or 91 before the parent was missing. 92 (d)The reasons cited by the respondent parent in ending 93 contact or visitation between the minor child and the 94 grandparent. 95 (e)Whether there has been significant and demonstrable 96 mental or emotional harm to the minor child as a result of the 97 disruption in the family unit, whether the child derived support 98 and stability from the grandparent, and whether the continuation 99 of such support and stability is likely to prevent further harm. 100 (f)The existence or threat to the minor child of mental 101 injury as defined in s. 39.01. 102 (g)The present mental, physical, and emotional health of 103 the minor child. 104 (h)The present mental, physical, and emotional health of 105 the grandparent. 106 (i)The recommendations of the minor childs guardian ad 107 litem, if one is appointed. 108 (j)The result of any psychological evaluation of the minor 109 child. 110 (k)The preference of the minor child if the child is 111 determined to be of sufficient maturity to express a preference. 112 (l)A written testamentary statement by the deceased parent 113 regarding visitation with the grandparent. The absence of a 114 testamentary statement is not deemed to provide evidence that 115 the deceased or missing parent or parent in a persistent 116 vegetative state would have objected to the requested 117 visitation. 118 (m)Other factors that the court considers necessary to 119 making its determination. 120 (7)(6)In assessing material harm to the parent-child 121 relationship under subsection (5) (4), the court shall consider 122 the totality of the circumstances affecting the parent-child 123 relationship, including: 124 (a)Whether there have been previous disputes between the 125 grandparent and the parent over childrearing or other matters 126 related to the care and upbringing of the minor child. 127 (b)Whether visitation would materially interfere with or 128 compromise parental authority. 129 (c)Whether visitation can be arranged in a manner that 130 does not materially detract from the parent-child relationship, 131 including the quantity of time available for enjoyment of the 132 parent-child relationship and any other consideration related to 133 disruption of the schedule and routine of the parent and the 134 minor child. 135 (d)Whether visitation is being sought for the primary 136 purpose of continuing or establishing a relationship with the 137 minor child with the intent that the child benefit from the 138 relationship. 139 (e)Whether the requested visitation would expose the minor 140 child to conduct, moral standards, experiences, or other factors 141 that are inconsistent with influences provided by the parent. 142 (f)The nature of the relationship between the childs 143 parent and the grandparent. 144 (g)The reasons cited by the parent in ending contact or 145 visitation between the minor child and the grandparent which was 146 previously allowed by the parent. 147 (h)The psychological toll of visitation disputes on the 148 minor child. 149 (i)Other factors that the court considers necessary in 150 making its determination. 151 (8)(7)Part II of chapter 61 applies to actions brought 152 under this section. 153 (9)(8)If actions under this section and s. 61.13 are 154 pending concurrently, the courts are strongly encouraged to 155 consolidate the actions in order to minimize the burden of 156 litigation on the minor child and the other parties. 157 (10)(9)An order for grandparent visitation may be modified 158 upon a showing by the person petitioning for modification that a 159 substantial change in circumstances has occurred and that 160 modification of visitation is in the best interests interest of 161 the minor child. 162 (11)(10)An original action requesting visitation under 163 this section may be filed by a grandparent only once during any 164 2-year period, except on good cause shown that the minor child 165 is suffering, or may suffer, significant and demonstrable mental 166 or emotional harm caused by a parental decision to deny 167 visitation between a minor child and the grandparent, which was 168 not known to the grandparent at the time of filing an earlier 169 action. 170 (12)(11)This section does not provide for grandparent 171 visitation with a minor child placed for adoption under chapter 172 63 except as provided in s. 752.071 with respect to adoption by 173 a stepparent or close relative. 174 (13)(12)Venue must shall be in the county where the minor 175 child primarily resides, unless venue is otherwise governed by 176 chapter 39, chapter 61, or chapter 63. 177 Section 2.For the purpose of incorporating the amendment 178 made by this act to section 752.011, Florida Statutes, in a 179 reference thereto, section 752.015, Florida Statutes, is 180 reenacted to read: 181 752.015Mediation of visitation disputes.It is the public 182 policy of this state that families resolve differences over 183 grandparent visitation within the family. It is the further 184 public policy of this state that, when families are unable to 185 resolve differences relating to grandparent visitation, the 186 family participate in any formal or informal mediation services 187 that may be available. If families are unable to resolve 188 differences relating to grandparent visitation and a petition is 189 filed pursuant to s. 752.011, the court shall, if such services 190 are available in the circuit, refer the case to family mediation 191 in accordance with the Florida Family Law Rules of Procedure. 192 Section 3.For the purpose of incorporating the amendment 193 made by this act to section 752.011, Florida Statutes, in a 194 reference thereto, section 752.071, Florida Statutes, is 195 reenacted to read: 196 752.071Effect of adoption by stepparent or close 197 relative.After the adoption of a minor child by a stepparent or 198 close relative, the stepparent or close relative may petition 199 the court to terminate an order granting grandparent visitation 200 under this chapter which was entered before the adoption. The 201 court may terminate the order unless the grandparent is able to 202 show that the criteria of s. 752.011 authorizing the visitation 203 continue to be satisfied. 204 Section 4.This act shall take effect July 1, 2025.