![]() ![]() A court may read this requirement into a nonparental visitation statute, even when the statute is silent on the topic. Ĭurrent law presumes that a fit parent’s decision regarding nonparental visitation is in the child’s best interest. Awarding visitation to a third party over a parent’s objection interferes with the parent’s constitutionally protected right to make decisions regarding the “care, custody, and control” of his or her children. Privacy rights are derived from the Fourteenth Amendment, which generally prohibits government interference with a person’s liberty without due process. This right is based on the privacy protections of the U.S. Parents have a constitutionally protected right to raise their children without government interference. In determining whether to order third party visitation, a court must analyze the visitation request based upon the best interests of the child, giving special consideration to a fit parent’s determinations as to what visitation is appropriate. In addition, the Wisconsin Supreme Court has recognized that courts have equitable powers to protect the best interests of a child by ordering visitation even in specified circumstances that do not meet the criteria of any statute governing third-party visitation. Who may petition for visitation and the type of relationship that person must have with the child varies under each statute. ![]() These circumstances include visitation during the course of a divorce proceeding, visitation if one or both of the child’s parents is deceased, and visitation if the child’s parents never marry each other. Wisconsin statutes permit a court to order visitation with a child by a third party, such as a grandparent, in specific circumstances. This information was originally published as an Information Memorandum by the Wisconsin Legislative Council and is being re-published here with permission. ![]()
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