Legal Question in Family Law in Virginia

Re: Grandparents Rights to Visitation

Interestingly, the Virginia Supreme Court had predicted the result of Troxel v. Granville, 530 U.S. 57, 120 S.Ct. 2054, 147 L.Ed.2d 49 (2000), in the case of Williams v. Williams, 256 Va. 19, 501 S.E.2d 417 (1998).

There have been a number of cases applying the "nonparent" rule. You can search at the following page using "troxel and granville and williams" as search terms.

http://www.courts.state.va.us/opinions/home.html

Virginia also has a special rule on what constitutes an "unfit parent" that is set forth in the case of Bailes v. Sours, 231 Va. 96, 340 S.E.2d 824 (1986). This rule has survived Troxel.

Hope this helps you with your research.