Do Grandparents Have Rights in PA? Visitation, Custody, Standing

Grandparents do have rights in PA, but only in defined circumstances and only after proving to the court that they are legally entitled to file. Pennsylvania law offers two separate paths: one under 23 Pa.C.S. § 5325, which allows grandparents and great-grandparents to seek partial or supervised visitation in three specific family situations, and a broader one under 23 Pa.C.S. § 5324, which allows grandparents who have functioned as a parent, or whose grandchild faces serious risk, to seek any form of custody, including primary. Which door applies depends entirely on the facts, and choosing the wrong one can end a case before it begins.

When Grandparents Can Ask for Visitation

Section 5325 is the narrower path. It lets grandparents and great-grandparents ask for partial physical custody (regularly scheduled time with the child) or supervised physical custody (time under oversight). This is what most people picture when they think of grandparent visitation rights.

You can file under § 5325 in three situations:

A parent of the child has died. The parents or grandparents of the deceased parent may file. Note that this provision opens standing for the deceased parent’s side of the family, not the surviving parent’s side.
The parents have started their own custody case and disagree about whether the grandparent should have time with the child. The grandparent’s relationship must have begun with a parent’s consent or under a court order.
The child lived with the grandparent for at least 12 consecutive months and was then removed by the parents. In that case, the grandparent has six months from the date of removal to file.

Every element of the chosen scenario has to be met. Miss one and the court has no authority to hear the case.¹

A common misconception is worth flagging: some online sources say grandparents can file whenever parents have been separated for six months. The statute does not say that. Under § 5325(2), the parents must have actually started a custody proceeding and must disagree about the grandparent’s role. Separation by itself is not enough.

When Grandparents Can Ask for Full Custody

Section 5324 is broader and reaches situations where a grandparent is trying to protect a child, not just visit one. Under this section, a grandparent can pursue any form of custody the court can award, including primary physical custody, sole physical custody, shared custody, and legal custody (the right to make major decisions about education, health care, and religion).

There are two routes in:

You have acted as the child’s parent (in loco parentis). If you have made day-to-day decisions, provided financial support, and served as the primary caregiver, you can seek any custody arrangement. No additional conditions apply.
You are not in a parental role but are willing to take responsibility for the child. Your relationship must have started with a parent’s consent or a court order, and at least one of three conditions must exist: the child has been declared dependent by a juvenile court; the child faces substantial risk from parental abuse, neglect, substance abuse, or incapacity; or the child lived with you for 12 or more consecutive months and was removed by the parents (same six-month filing deadline).

This is the path grandparents typically use when they have been raising a grandchild through a parent’s addiction, incarceration, or absence. It exists because sometimes what a grandparent needs is not weekend time but the ability to keep the child in the only stable home the child has known.²

What the Court Considers Once You Have Standing

Standing only gets you through the door. After that, the court decides custody based on the child’s best interests, weighing a list of statutory factors. Pennsylvania’s custody statute was amended in 2025 and now emphasizes safety above other considerations.

The factors judges must weigh include which party is more likely to keep the child safe, any history of abuse or violent behavior in a party’s household, each party’s willingness to encourage the child’s relationship with others (with an explicit recognition that reasonable efforts to protect a child from abuse are not alienation), each party’s ability to meet the child’s daily needs, the child’s need for stability in school and community, sibling and family relationships, the child’s own well-reasoned preference weighted by maturity, proximity between the parties, work schedules and child care arrangements, substance abuse history, and mental and physical health of household members. Safety and abuse history carry substantial weight. Judges have to address each relevant factor on the record.²

Extra Factors in Grandparent Visitation Cases

Section 5328(c) adds factors that apply only when grandparents or great-grandparents are seeking custody under § 5325. If your standing comes from a parent’s death or the parents’ custody dispute, the court also considers the amount of contact you had with the child before filing, whether granting you time would interfere with the parent-child relationship, and whether the arrangement serves the child’s best interests.

If your standing comes from the 12-month residency, the prior-contact factor drops out. The court still considers interference with the parent-child relationship and the child’s best interests. The 12 months of shared life presumably speak for themselves on the question of bond.²

The Constitutional Ceiling on Grandparent Rights

Every grandparent custody case in Pennsylvania sits under a constitutional constraint: parents have a fundamental right to direct their children’s upbringing. In Troxel v. Granville (2000), the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a Washington state law that let judges override a parent’s visitation decision based only on the judge’s view of the child’s best interests. The Court held that the law failed to give proper weight to a fit parent’s own judgment.³

In practice, Pennsylvania courts presume that a fit parent’s decision about grandparent contact is reasonable. A grandparent seeking custody over a parent’s objection carries the burden of showing that the arrangement genuinely serves the child’s welfare and that the parent’s refusal works against the child. Wanting a relationship with a grandchild is not enough on its own. You need to show, concretely, that the child benefits from the relationship and would be worse off without it.

The analysis shifts with the facts. A grandparent who raised a child for years during a parent’s addiction stands on very different ground than one who saw the child at holidays and now objects to a parent’s new arrangement.

How Adoption Ends Grandparent Rights

Adoption can permanently end a grandparent’s standing. Under § 5326, if a child is adopted by anyone other than a stepparent, grandparent, or great-grandparent, existing grandparent custody rights, and even the future right to seek custody, are automatically terminated. No hearing is required. The adoption itself does it.²

The exceptions matter. If a stepparent, grandparent, or great-grandparent is the one adopting, existing grandparent rights are not automatically cut off. That protects situations where a family reorganizes but the grandparent relationship stays intact, such as a stepparent adoption after a parent’s death where the deceased parent’s parents remain involved.

If an outside adoption is on the horizon, timing is critical. Once it is finalized, the door closes.

Great-Grandparents Have the Same Rights

Pennsylvania places great-grandparents on the same footing as grandparents in both § 5324 and § 5325. The same standing requirements, the same best-interest analysis, and the same procedures apply. A great-grandparent who raised a child for 12 months has the same legal footing as a grandparent who did so.¹ The adoption termination rule under § 5326 applies to great-grandparents on the same terms.²

Filing a Case and What It Costs

A grandparent custody case is filed in the Court of Common Pleas in the county where the child lives. In Philadelphia, the filing fee for a custody, partial custody, or visitation petition is approximately $108.⁴ Fees vary across the state, generally running around $100 to $150.

Most counties route custody cases through a conciliation conference before a judge hears the case. A court-appointed conciliator meets with the parties to try to reach an agreement; if the parties settle, the agreement becomes a court order. Statements made during conciliation are not admissible later, and the conciliator cannot be called as a witness. Many counties also require parties to complete an educational program on parenting responsibilities and the effects of custody disputes on children. Cost and format depend on the county, and the court typically will not proceed until it is done.

If the case reaches a hearing, both sides present evidence. A grandparent should be ready with documentation of the relationship: records of caregiving, school and medical involvement, photographs, and witnesses who have seen the grandparent-grandchild bond firsthand. The judge may interview the child privately if the child is old enough to express a meaningful preference, and may appoint a guardian ad litem to represent the child independently.

Attorney fees are typically the largest cost. Family law attorneys in Pennsylvania generally charge $150 to $350 per hour, and a contested case that reaches a hearing can involve 20 to 50 or more hours of attorney time. Cases that settle at conciliation cost significantly less. If a guardian ad litem is appointed, the parties may be ordered to share that cost. Some counties offer fee waivers or reductions based on income.

1
Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code Title 23 Section 5325 – Standing for Partial Physical Custody and Supervised Physical Custody
2
Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code Title 23 Chapter 53 – Custody
3
Library of Congress. Family Autonomy and Substantive Due Process
4
Philadelphia Courts. Office of Judicial Records Fee Schedule