Existing law authorizes a district court to grant visitation rights to certain relatives of an unmarried minor child, including a grandparent and great-grandparent of the child, under certain conditions. Visitation rights may be granted if the parent of the child is deceased, divorced or separated from the other parent, has relinquished his or her parental rights or had his or her parental rights terminated. Generally, the court may only grant visitation rights if the parent of the child has denied or unreasonably restricted visits with the child and the person seeking visitation overcomes the presumption that granting visitation rights is not in the best interests of the child. To overcome the presumption, the person seeking visitation rights must prove by clear and convincing evidence that such visitation rights are in the best interests of the child. (NRS 125C.050) Clear and convincing evidence is established by presenting evidence which shows each factual element to be highly probable or evidence which is so clear as to leave no substantial doubt. (In re Drakulich, 111 Nev. 1556 (1995)) This bill expands the circumstances in which a court may grant visitation rights to the grandparent or great-grandparent of an unmarried minor child to include visitation with any unmarried minor child, including a child whose parents are married to each other and not separated, if the grandparent or great-grandparent has established a meaningful relationship with the child and a parent of the child has denied the grandparent or great-grandparent visits with the child.

Statutes affected:
As Introduced: 125C.050
BDR: 125C.050