Legal Question in Family Law in Wisconsin

Re: grandparents visitation

You are the sole custodian of your child and have the absolute right to permit or deny visits with grandparents or anyone else. If the grandparents do not acquiesce to the terms and conditions that you place on their visits with the child, they may file a motion for reasonable visitation rights under Wis. Stat. 767.43:

"767.43 Visitation rights of certain persons. (1) PETITION, WHO MAY FILE. Except as provided in subs. (1m) and (2m), upon petition by a grandparent, greatgrandparent, stepparent or person who has maintained a relationship similar to a parent−child

relationship with the child, the court may grant reasonable visitation rights to that person if the parents have notice of the hearing and if the court determines that visitation is in the best interest of the child."

As you can see, if the court makes the decision it must find that visitation is in the best interests of the child. So you ought to be able to negotiate a compromise with the grandparents that includes their agreement to NOT undermine the child's relationship with her stepmother (or with you) and conditioned upon their continued compliance with that agreement.

If the grandparents were to challenge you and go to court, it is difficult to see how a court could ever find it to be in the best interests of the child to have the child's relationship with her stepmother interfered with.