In order to request visitation with a grandchild or grandchildren, grandparents in Alaska must first request to join the custody suit. The custody case does not have to be pending; grandparents can request to join a custody case that has already been decided. Certain forms must be filed asking to join the suit; additional forms are required to ask for visitation. The forms can be filed sequentially or all at one time.
When rendering a judgment, the court will consider whether visiting with the grandparent is in the best interest of the child and whether the grandparent has established ongoing contact with the child or has tried to establish ongoing contact with the child. When determining whether to grant visitation and the terms of any visitation granted, the court is directed to consider whether there is a history of child abuse or domestic violence attributable to the grandparent's son or daughter, the parent of the grandchild.
If a grandparent wishes to request visitation with a child , and there has been no custody case, the grandparent will need the advice of an attorney.
Adoption terminates visitation rights unless the adoption decree specifies visitation rights for the child's natural relatives.
See the Alaska statutes, 25.20.065.
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