Patten v. Ardis

304 Ga. 140

FINAL COPY S18A0412. PATTEN v. ARDIS. BLACKWELL, Justice. In Brooks v. Parkerson,

265 Ga. 189

( 454 SE2d 769) (1995), this Court held that the Grandparent Visitation Act of 19881 was unconstitutional to the extent that it authorized courts to award child visitation to a grandparent over the objection of fit parents and without a clear and convincing showing of harm to the child. Seventeen years later, the General Assembly enacted the Grandparent Visitation Rights Act of 2012,2 a provision of which authorizes courts to award child visitation in some circumstances to a grandparent over…