Sec. 1. 22 MRSA §4005-B, sub-§3, as enacted by PL 1993, c. 697, §1, is amended to read:

3. Criteria. The court shall grant standing and intervenor status when the court finds that the grandparent has an existing relationship or has made sufficient effort to establish a relationship with the child, that that status would be in the best interests of the child and that that status would also be consistent with the purposes of this chapter as set forth in section 4003. The criterion of an existing relationship or sufficient effort to establish a relationship with the child need not be met when the child is 6 months or less in age at the time of the initial petition.

SUMMARY

Under current law, the court is required to grant standing and intervenor status if it finds, in addition to other criteria, that a grandparent has an existing relationship or has made sufficient effort to establish a relationship with a child. This bill provides that this specified requirement need not be met when the child is 6 months old or younger at the time of the initial petition.