Legal Question in Family Law in Maryland

It really depends on the circumstances. You don't mention whether your granddaughter is well cared for or is in a dangerous environment, whether she is subjected to abuse or potential abuse, her age, where she is, etc. Please feel free to call or email if you would like to discuss further.

In order to obtain third-party visitation, you must first show either exceptional circumstances or that the biological parent or parents are unfit. If you are able to do that, then the court would make a decision based on the best interest of the child. As an example of exceptional circumstances, if you have been a major part of the child's life and are now being denied access, you may have a strong case for visitation.

There is a statute that allows grandparents to petition a court to grant them visitation. However, the court of appeals has interpreted the statute to give the parents effective control of the decision to allow grandparent visitation. The court said that there is a presumption that the parent knows what is best for the child, and the grandparents have the burden of rebutting that presumption by demonstrating to the court that the child will be harmed unless grandparent visitation is allowed.