Legal Question in Family Law in Indiana

The Indiana Grandparent Visitation statute can be found at: http://www.in.gov/legislative/ic/code/title31/ar17/ch5.html

In order to maintain a petition for grandparent visitation in Indiana one of the following provisions of the statute must be met: IC 31-17-5-1

Right to seek visitation

Sec. 1. (a) A child's grandparent may seek visitation rights if:

(1) the child's parent is deceased;

(2) the marriage of the child's parents has been dissolved in Indiana; or

(3) subject to subsection (b), the child was born out of wedlock.

(b) A court may not grant visitation rights to a paternal grandparent of a child who is born out of wedlock under subsection (a)(3) if the child's father has not established paternity in relation to the child.

I am unclear if the mother and father are currently married. If so, it would not appear you can maintain a grandparent visitation petition. If they were divorced in Indiana, then under the statute you can petition the court for visitation. If they were divorcced in another state then according to the statute a few other requirements come in to play in order to maintain a grandparent visitation petition (See the last provision of the statute). If the child was born out of wedlock and paternity has been established, which it appears it would have been since there is a parenting time and child support order, then you can maintain a grandparent visitation petition.

Assuming you meet one of the provisions of this section and can maintain a petition for grandparent visitation then it would be up to the Court if no agreement can be reached whether or not visitaiton would be allowed. As you will see in the statute the best interests of the child is paramount and it can consider whether the grandparents have had meaningful contact with the child. Venue lies in the county in which the child resides according to the statute so that is the county you would need to file your petition in.