ATLANTA – State Representative Brian Strickland (R-McDonough) recently introduced House Bill 229. HB 229 expands grandparents’ visitation rights to include other extended family members.
“Children deserve the opportunity to spend time with not only their grandparents, but other family members that have played a significant role in their lives,” said Rep. Strickland. “Today, many people are assisting with the upbringing of their great grandchildren, nieces and nephews, and the court should not limit a child’s time to only grandparents. Courts should give these other family members the opportunity to prove that a child will be harmed without them in their lives.”
HB 229 expands the grandparent’s visitation statute to include great grandparents, aunts and uncles by giving extended family members the opportunity to fight for the right to have visitation with a child. Under HB 229, a great grandparent, aunt or uncle may seek visitation rights when a child custody case has gone before a court or in cases where the parents are no longer living together. In order to be eligible for visitation rights, a great grandparent, aunt or uncle must prove that the health and welfare of a child will be harmed without such visitation and that the visitation is in the best interests of the child.
For more information on HB 229, please click here.
Representative Brian Strickland represents the citizens of District 111, which includes portions of Henry County. He was elected into the House of Representatives in 2012, and currently serves on the Banks & Banking, Economic Development and Tourism, Intragovernmental, Industry and Labor, and Judiciary Non-Civil committees.
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