A BILL TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY AMENDING SECTION 63-3-530, RELATING TO COURT-ORDERED GRANDPARENT VISITATION OF A MINOR CHILD, SO AS TO ALLOW COURTS TO ORDER GREAT-GRANDPARENT VISITATION OF A MINOR CHILD IN CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES.
Summary
H4647 amends South Carolina’s family-court visitation statute to expressly allow courts to order visitation for great-grandparents, in addition to grandparents, under limited circumstances. The bill applies when one or both parents are deceased, divorced, or living separately, and when the court finds that the parents or guardians are unreasonably denying visitation, that visitation would not interfere with the parent-child relationship, and that either the parents are unfit or there are compelling circumstances sufficient to overcome the presumption that the parents’ decision is in the child’s best interest.
The bill also defines “grandparent” and “great-grandparent” for purposes of the statute and authorizes the judge to award attorney’s fees and costs to the prevailing party. If enacted, it would broaden existing court authority in custody/visitation disputes by adding great-grandparents to the class of relatives who may seek court-ordered visitation, while preserving a high evidentiary threshold and the general presumption favoring parental decision-making.
Impact
H4647 would amend Section 63-3-530 of the South Carolina Code, which governs court-ordered visitation rights for grandparents, by extending those rights to great-grandparents in specified family circumstances. The change would affect family court proceedings involving visitation disputes and could expand standing or remedies for extended family members seeking contact with a minor child. It would also preserve the statute’s existing safeguards by requiring clear and convincing evidence and a finding that visitation will not disrupt the parent-child relationship.
Sentiment
Based on the bill text and the absence of recorded committee testimony or votes, the available context suggests a generally supportive or at least straightforward policy approach focused on family access and continuity of relationships. The bill appears designed to address situations where grandparents and great-grandparents may be cut off from a child after parental death, divorce, or separation. No recorded opposition, amendments, or roll-call votes are provided in the materials, so there is no documented public controversy in the available record.
Contention
The main point of contention inherent in the bill is the balance between extended-family visitation rights and parental autonomy. Supporters would likely emphasize the value of preserving relationships with grandparents and great-grandparents, especially in disrupted family situations, while opponents may argue that expanding court-ordered visitation further intrudes on a parent’s constitutional and statutory authority to decide with whom a child associates. The bill tries to limit that tension by requiring proof of parental unfitness or compelling circumstances, but those standards themselves can be disputed in litigation.
Provides that a great-grandparent may apply to the supreme court for visitation rights with respect to certain minor great-grandchildren where either or both of the parents of such child is or are deceased.