In the case of Brooks v. Parkerson, the Georgia Supreme Court found that Georgia's statute for grandparent visitation was unconstitutional. In fact, the Georgia Supreme Court's decision in this 1995 case possibly influenced the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in the 2000 landmark case of Troxel v. Granville. The Georgia court ruled that "the 'best interest of the child' standard does not come into play to permit interference with the custody and control of the child, over parental objection, unless and until there is a showing of harm to the child without that interference." The term "grandparent visitation" appears in the Georgia Code in its description of Title 19, Chapter 9, Section 3, but the statute simply states as follows: "It is the express policy of this state to encourage that a child has continuing contact with parents and grandparents who have shown the ability to act in the best interest of the child and to encourage parents to share in the rights and responsibilities of raising their child after such parents have separated or dissolved their marriage or relationship." This statement is generally interpreted to mean grandparents have little chance of winning visitation if the parents of the child are in an intact marriage and ban visitation.
In regard to adoption by a blood relative, Georgia Code states the following: "A grandparent with visitation rights to a child granted pursuant to Code Section 19-7-3 shall have the privilege to file objections to the petition of adoption if neither parent has any further rights to the child and if the petition for adoption has been filed by a blood relative of the child."
With the state of grandparent visitation thus in doubt in Georgia, grandparents seeking visitation will definitely need the services of an attorney.
See Georgia statutes. Look for Title 19, Chapter 9, Section 3. Also see Brooks v. Parkerson.
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