STATEHOUSE (Feb. 16, 2010) - A Senate committee on Wednesday will hear legislation which would help grandparent and great-grandparents obtain legal visitation to their grandchildren, said State Sen. Brent Steele (R-Bedford).

Members on the Corrections, Criminal & Civil Matters Committee will hear House Bill 1050, authored by House Rep. Russell Stilwell (D-Boonville) and sponsored by Steele, at 9 a.m. in Room 130 of the Statehouse.

“HB 1050 is the companion bill to legislation I authored in the Senate,” Steele said. “Similar to Senate Bill 59, the House bill could provide avenues to seek visitation rights for grandparents, who can prove they play an integral part of their grandchildren’s lives.”

Currently, Indiana law allows grandparents to seek visitation of their grandchild if a paternity action - an act to legally define each parent’s rights and responsibilities with regard to their child - has been filed or where the child’s parents are divorced.  The law does not allow grandparents the chance to seek these rights if there is no divorce or paternity action.

Steele said the law presents problems for those grandparents who may be raising their grandchildren.

“Parents who may have been absent for most of the child’s life could come back, take the child away from the stable environment and cut off all communications to their grandparents without reason,” Steele said. “HB 1055 would allow these grandparents the chance to seek visitation rights and continue making a positive impact.”

Steele said the legislation would create guidelines - similar to those proposed in SB 59 - courts would consider to determine if visitation is in the child’s best interest: 

• Age and sex of the child;
• Wishes of the child, parents, grandparents and great-grandparents;
• Relationship between the child and their grandparents or great-grandparents;
• Mental and physical health of the individuals involved;
• History of domestic violence by the grandparents or great-grandparents; and
• Evidence that the child has been cared for by the child’s grandparents or great-grandparents.

Steele serves Senate District 44, which includes Lawrence and Jackson counties as well as portions on Monroe, Orange and Washington counties.