In Re the Adoption of a Child by W.P.

This case raises the issue whether grandparents who have had a relationship with their granddaughter since she was born can seek visitation rights under N.J.S.A. 9:2-71 (the “Grandparent Visitation Statute”) 1, after the child at age four is adopted by non-relatives. The child’s adoptive parents claim, and a majority of the Court agrees, that the Grandparent Visitation Statute conflicts with policies enunciated in the Adoption Act, N.J.S.A. 9:3-37 to - 56, and should not be given full force and effect. Ante at 163-64, 748 A.2d at 517-18. The adoptive parents also claim that application of the…