A grandparent's place at the table isn't something a court hands out lightly.

For grandparents who've been cut off from a grandchild, the holidays are when it hurts most. There's the empty chair at Thanksgiving, the gifts with nowhere to go, and the photos on someone else's phone. Some of them come to us in November asking whether the court can order a parent to let them see the child before Christmas. Michigan does give grandparents a way to ask, but it's narrower than most people expect, it starts from a strong presumption in the parent's favor, and it almost never moves fast enough to change this year's holidays. Knowing that up front helps grandparents choose between a lawsuit and a different kind of conversation.

Do grandparents have visitation rights in Michigan?

Not automatically. Michigan law doesn't give grandparents a right to see their grandchildren. What it gives them is a limited right to ask a court for an order, and only when the family fits one of the situations listed in MCL 722.27b(1). Those include a pending or finished divorce, separate maintenance, or annulment between the parents; a parent who has died, when the grandparent is that parent's mother or father; parents who never married, don't live together, and have legally established paternity; a child placed in someone else's legal custody or living outside a parent's home; and a grandparent who provided an established custodial environment for the child within the past year.

If none of those apply, there's no case to file. The most common example is a grandparent estranged from a married couple who live together. However painful the estrangement is, the statute doesn't open the courthouse door in that situation, and the better path is usually repairing the relationship rather than litigating it.

Why is the bar so high for grandparents?

Because the U.S. Supreme Court and the Michigan Supreme Court both said it has to be. In Troxel v. Granville in 2000, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a broad Washington visitation law as applied, holding that fit parents have a fundamental right to make decisions about their children and that courts must give those decisions special weight. Relying on Troxel, the Michigan Supreme Court affirmed in DeRose v. DeRose in 2003 that Michigan's old grandparent visitation statute was unconstitutional. The Legislature rewrote the law in 2004 to build that deference in.

The result is the current statute's core rule. Under MCL 722.27b(4)(b), the court must presume that a fit parent's decision to deny grandparenting time doesn't create a substantial risk of harm to the child's mental, physical, or emotional health. A grandparent who can't overcome that presumption loses, even if the court believes visits would be good for the child.

What does a grandparent have to prove?

That the parent's denial creates a substantial risk of harm to the child's mental, physical, or emotional health, proven by a preponderance of the evidence. That's a different question from whether the child would enjoy the visits or benefit from them. Cases that succeed usually involve a grandparent who played a central role in the child's life, such as raising the child for a period or caring for them daily, so that cutting the relationship off is itself harmful.

Only after the grandparent clears that hurdle does the court look at the child's best interests, under factors that include the emotional ties between grandparent and child, the length and quality of the relationship, the grandparent's health and moral fitness, the child's reasonable preference, the effect of hostility between the grandparent and the parent, and whether the parent's refusal is about the child's wellbeing or something unrelated. If you've been through a custody case, those factors will look familiar from Michigan's best interest factors for custody.

What happens if both parents oppose it?

The case ends. Under MCL 722.27b(5), if two fit parents sign an affidavit saying they both oppose an order for grandparenting time, the court must dismiss the complaint or deny the motion. The Court of Appeals has described that as an irrebuttable presumption. The only exception is a family where one of the two parents is a stepparent who adopted the child, and the grandparent is the parent of the child's parent who died or whose rights were terminated.

Adoption matters in another way too. Under the statute, an adoption generally ends a grandparent's right to seek grandparenting time, but a stepparent adoption doesn't end the right of a deceased parent's own parents to file. For grandparents who lost a son or daughter, that exception is often the reason a case is possible at all.

How do you file in Wayne County?

It depends on whether there's already a case. If a court already has an open or finished divorce or custody case involving the child, the grandparent files a motion in that case. If there isn't one, the grandparent files a complaint in the circuit court of the county where the child lives, which for a child in Dearborn or Wyandotte means the Third Circuit Court in Detroit. Either way, the filing must include an affidavit explaining the facts, notice must go to the parents, and a parent with legal custody can file an opposing affidavit.

A judge decides the case, not the Friend of the Court, which isn't required to investigate grandparenting time requests. The court can hold a hearing on its own or at a party's request, and a 2025 Court of Appeals decision, Mack v. Schmaus, held that a grandparent must get a real chance to testify before being required to overcome the presumption. If the presumption is overcome, the court can also refer the case to mediation.

Can a court order holiday time before Christmas?

Realistically, not this year. Nothing requires a parent to share Thanksgiving or Christmas with a grandparent unless a court order already says so, and a case filed in November has to work through notice, affidavits, and a hearing calendar. The Third Circuit Court is also closed November 26 and 27 and December 24, 25, and 31, with only emergency matters heard on December 28 through 30. Promising a holiday ruling would be promising something the calendar doesn't allow.

The timing also has a cost. A grandparent can generally file only once every two years without showing good cause, and the court can order the losing side to pay reasonable attorney fees. A rushed filing built on holiday frustration can use up the one chance to bring a stronger case later.

What can grandparents do instead this season?

Start with the relationship the law is designed to protect. A short written proposal to the parent, offering something modest like a visit at a neutral place, a video call on the holiday, or a shared outing, respects the parent's authority, which is exactly what the statute rewards. Hostility between a grandparent and a parent is one of the best interest factors, so an angry confrontation on the doorstep can hurt a future case more than it helps this one. Meanwhile, keep records of past visits, overnights, school pickups, and any time you cared for the child, because those details decide both standing and the merits.

If you think your family fits one of the statute's situations, our family law practice can review it with you and give you a straight answer about whether a filing has a real chance. Call D.C. Law at (313) 274-6200. A grandparent's place at the holiday table usually comes back through patience and a careful plan, and when the law can help, it helps most when the case is ready.

Quick answers

Can grandparents sue for visitation in Michigan?

Only in specific situations listed in MCL 722.27b, such as divorced parents, a deceased parent, unmarried parents living apart with paternity established, or a child placed outside the parents' home. Even then, they must overcome a presumption favoring a fit parent's decision.

What do grandparents have to prove to get visitation in Michigan?

That a fit parent's denial creates a substantial risk of harm to the child's mental, physical, or emotional health, by a preponderance of the evidence. Only then does the court consider the child's best interests.

Can both parents stop grandparent visitation in Michigan?

Yes. If two fit parents sign an affidavit opposing grandparenting time, the court must dismiss the case, except in limited situations involving a stepparent adoption after a parent died or lost parental rights.

How often can grandparents file for visitation in Michigan?

Generally no more than once every two years, unless the grandparent shows good cause. The court can also award attorney fees to the prevailing side.

Related reading

• Thanksgiving and Winter Break Parenting Time
• Michigan Child Custody and the Best Interest Factors
• How Does Divorce Work in Michigan?
• Family Law and Divorce at D.C. Law