In deciding if a third party will be awarded visitation with a child, the opinion of the parents is given special weight. There are several statutory factors to consider, including the historical relationship between the child and the third party, the motivation of the party seeking visitation, the motivation of the party objecting to the visitation, the quantity of time requested, the potential adverse impact that visitation will have on the child’s customary activities and the benefit of maintaining a family relationship if one or both parents are deceased.
