(a) The Legislature finds and declares that a parent’s fundamental right to provide for the care, custody, companionship, and management of the parent’s children, while compelling, is not absolute. Children have a fundamental right to maintain healthy, stable relationships with a person who has served in a significant, judicially approved parental role.

(b) The court may grant reasonable visitation rights to a person who previously served as the legal guardian of a child, if visitation is determined to be in the best interest of the minor child.

Terms Used In California Family Code 3105

  • Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
  • order: include a decree, as appropriate under the circumstances. See California Family Code 100
  • Person: includes a natural person, firm, association, organization, partnership, business trust, corporation, limited liability company, or public entity. See California Family Code 105
  • Proceeding: includes an action. See California Family Code 110

(c) In the absence of a court order granting or denying visitation between a former legal guardian and a former minor ward, and if a dependency proceeding is not pending, a former legal guardian may maintain an independent action for visitation with the former minor ward. If the child does not have at least one living parent, visitation shall not be determined in a proceeding under the Family Code, but shall instead be determined in a guardianship proceeding that may be initiated for that purpose.

(Amended by Stats. 2019, Ch. 115, Sec. 32. (AB 1817) Effective January 1, 2020.)