House Bill 158 Summary

• Expands grandparent visitation rights statutes to include great-grandparents in Mississippi Code Sections 93-16-1 through 93-16-7.

• Allows great-grandparents to petition courts for visitation rights under the same conditions as grandparents, including when a parent dies, custody is awarded, or parental rights are terminated.

• Establishes that great-grandparents can seek visitation if they had a viable relationship with the child (defined as financial support for 6+ months, frequent visitation including overnight stays for 1+ year, or significant caregiving during parent's incarceration or military duty).

• Requires courts to determine visitation is in the child's best interest and allows courts to order parents to pay attorney's fees to great-grandparents or to require great-grandparents to pay parents' attorney's fees.

• Effective date: July 1, 2015.