Maine § 19-A §1803 Petition

Maine Statutes

§ 19-A §1803 — Petition

Maine § 19-A §1803

Title 19-ADOMESTIC RELATIONS

Part 3PARENTS AND CHILDREN

Ch. 59VISITATION RIGHTS OF GRANDPARENTS AND GREAT-GRANDPARENTS

This text of Maine § 19-A §1803 (Petition) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Maine primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook

Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 19-A, § 19-A §1803 (2026).

Text

1.Standing to seek grandparent visitation rights. A grandparent of a minor child has standing to initiate and maintain an action for reasonable rights of visitation or access if:

2.Procedure. The following procedures apply to petitions for rights of visitation or access under subsection 1.

3.Best interest of the child. The court may grant a grandparent reasonable rights of visitation or access to a minor child upon finding that the grandparent has standing under subsection 1 and that granting the grandparent reasonable rights of visitation or access is in the best interest of the child and would not significantly interfere with any parent-child relationship or with the parent's rightful authority over the child. In deciding whether granting the grandparent reasonable rights of visitatio

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1.
Standing to seek grandparent visitation rights.
A grandparent of a minor child has standing to initiate and maintain an action for reasonable rights of visitation or access if:
2.
Procedure.
The following procedures apply to petitions for rights of visitation or access under subsection 1.
3.
Best interest of the child.
The court may grant a grandparent reasonable rights of visitation or access to a minor child upon finding that the grandparent has standing under subsection 1 and that granting the grandparent reasonable rights of visitation or access is in the best interest of the child and would not significantly interfere with any parent-child relationship or with the parent's rightful authority over the child. In deciding whether granting the grandparent reasonable rights of visitation or access is in the best interest of the child and whether it would significantly interfere with the parent-child relationship or with the parent's rightful authority over the child, the court shall consider the following factors:
4.
Modification or termination.
The court may modify or terminate any rights granted under this section as circumstances require. Modification or termination of rights must be consistent with this section.
5.
Enforcement.
The court may issue any orders necessary to enforce orders issued under this section or to protect the rights of parties.
6.
Costs and fees.
7.
Supervision required; convictions for sexual offenses.
Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, the court may award a grandparent who is convicted of a child-related sexual offense visitation with a minor grandchild only if the court finds that contact between the grandparent and the child is in the best interest of the child and that adequate provision for the safety of the child can be made. For purposes of this section, "child-related sexual offense" has the same meaning as in section 1653, subsection 6‑A.
8.
Conviction or adjudication for certain sex offenses; presumption.
There is a rebuttable presumption that the grandparent would create a situation of jeopardy for the child if any contact were to be permitted and that contact is not in the best interest of the child if the court finds that the grandparent:

Legislative History

PL 1995, c. 694, §B2 (NEW). PL 1995, c. 694, §E2 (AFF). PL 2001, c. 665, §§5-7 (AMD). PL 2005, c. 323, §13 (AMD). PL 2005, c. 360, §3 (AMD). PL 2005, c. 366, §4 (AMD). PL 2007, c. 513, §4 (AMD). PL 2017, c. 328, §§2-4 (AMD).