Michigan Grandparents' Rights: How the Law Was Rebuilt After DeRose

Michigan's grandparent-visitation law has a history worth knowing before you read the current statute: the version on the books today is not the version Michigan courts actually struck down. If you find an older description of "Michigan's grandparent visitation law," it may be describing dead law. The current statute is a genuine post-Troxel rebuild, and it is worth understanding both halves of that story.

No grandparent in Michigan has an automatic right to visitation. But Michigan's current law is a reasonably well-built example of a state that responded to a constitutional problem by fixing the statute itself, rather than leaving the fix entirely to case law.

Information last verified on 2026-08-12. This article has not yet been reviewed by a licensed lawyer.

The Law That Was Struck Down: DeRose v. DeRose

In DeRose v. DeRose, 469 Mich. 320, 666 N.W.2d 636 (2003), the Michigan Supreme Court struck the prior version of MCL 722.27b facially as unconstitutional under Troxel v. Granville. The problem was structural: the old statute did not require courts to give any deference to a fit parent's decision about grandparent visitation, and it contained no presumption that a fit parent's decision serves the child's best interest. Justice Weaver's concurrence in the case specifically urged the Legislature to fix the statute rather than leave the gap to further litigation.

The Current Law: What the Legislature Built to Replace It

The Legislature responded, and the version of MCL 722.27b in force today is a materially different, more protective statute than the one DeRose struck down. The current law starts from a rebuttable presumption that a fit parent's decision to deny grandparenting time does NOT create a substantial risk of harm to the child's well-being. To overcome that presumption, a grandparent must prove, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the parent's denial does create a substantial risk of harm, weighed against an eight-factor test covering the emotional ties between grandparent and child, the prior relationship and role the grandparent has played, the grandparent's moral fitness and health, the child's own preference, the effect of any family hostility, the grandparent's willingness to encourage the child's relationship with the parent, any history of abuse or neglect, and whether the parent's denial itself relates to the child's welfare.

The statute even builds in a contingency: if a preponderance standard is ever held unconstitutional, it specifies a fallback clear-and-convincing standard. That level of detail reflects a Legislature that was deliberately building a statute meant to survive exactly the kind of constitutional challenge that took down its predecessor.

Standing to file requires one of six specific circumstances: a pending action for divorce, separate maintenance, or annulment; the parents already divorced or legally separated; a parent's death; unmarried parents with established paternity who do not live together; custody having been given to someone other than a parent; or the grandparent having provided an established custodial environment for the child for one year or more.

Custody: A Separate, Harder Track

MCL 700.5204 allows guardianship-of-minor appointment, including by a grandparent, when parental rights have been terminated or suspended by a prior order, a parent has died, is mentally incompetent, has disappeared, or is confined; or when an unmarried custodial parent dies or goes missing and the proposed guardian is related to the child within the fifth degree; or when a parent has let the child live elsewhere without granting legal authority for care and the child is not currently residing with a parent when the petition is filed. This is a separate legal track from grandparenting time and is fact-specific in its own right. See Michigan child custody laws for the broader picture.

Adoption: A Real, Codified Protection in a Specific Scenario

MCL 710.60(3) generally preserves the ability to file for or maintain a grandparenting-time action under MCL 722.27b despite an adoption. Section 722.27b then narrows that: if two fit parents jointly oppose a grandparenting-time action, it generally must be dismissed, unless one of those fit parents is a stepparent who adopted the child, and the grandparent petitioning is the parent of the child's deceased or rights-terminated biological parent. In that specific configuration, a stepparent adoption does not automatically cut off the grandparent's ability to seek grandparenting time, even against both parents' joint objection.

Filing for Grandparenting Time: Court, Process, and Cost

Michigan Child Custody Act matters, including grandparenting-time petitions, are heard in Circuit Court, Family Division. Standing is tied to one of the six enumerated circumstances above; most involve an existing or terminated family-court matter, though the one-year-custodial-environment trigger and the parent's-death trigger can arise outside a currently pending case.

There is no official statewide fee schedule found for this specific petition. Confirm the current filing fee with the Circuit Court, Family Division, where you plan to file.

Consider Mediation Before You File

Even with Michigan's more grandparent-friendly preponderance standard, a contested case still means real cost, delay, and strain on family relationships. Before filing, consider a direct conversation with the parent if that is realistic, a trusted family member as an intermediary, or a mediator experienced in family disputes. Many Michigan Circuit Courts offer or require mediation once a case is filed.

What Are Your Realistic Odds in Michigan?

Michigan is a genuinely useful comparison point for readers wondering what a "done right" post-Troxel statute looks like. The preponderance-of-the-evidence bar, while real, is a more achievable standard than the clear-and-convincing-evidence bar used in some other states, and a grandparent who can point to concrete evidence of substantial risk to the child from losing contact, not just a general preference for more time together, has a workable path forward. If you decide to pursue a petition, a family-law attorney licensed in Michigan can assess how your specific facts fit the eight-factor test before you file.

Disclaimer

This article provides general information about Michigan grandparenting-time and custody law. It is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Michigan's statute was substantially rebuilt after a prior version was struck down, and outcomes depend heavily on the specific facts of a family's situation. Verify current details with the court where you plan to file or a licensed Michigan attorney before relying on anything here for a specific situation.

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Last updated: 2026-08-12.