Legislative Update: Attorney’s Fees in Grandparent Visitation Matters

Although many grandparents are able to play an active role in the lives of their grandchildren, in some unfortunate circumstances, grandparents must file a lawsuit to request that they be permitted to visit with their grandchildren.

Prior to May 2025, neither a grandparent filing the lawsuit nor the parent or parents defending against the lawsuit had the ability to recover his or her attorney’s fees or litigation expenses.  But in May 2025, the inability to recover fees and expenses changed.  On May 2, 2025, T.C.A. § 36-6-306 was amended to add subsection (g), which states, “The court may award reasonable attorney's fees and other litigation expenses to either party in an action for grandparent visitation brought under this section.”

Thus, now, a grandparent filing an action under T.C.A. § 36-6-306 [Grandparents’ visitation rights] or an individual defending against an action brought under that section may recover his or her attorney’s fees and other litigation expenses – a stark contrast to the prior complete bar against recovery.  As of January 2026, Tennessee does not have any caselaw citing to this specific statute’s subsection.