[Robert S]

Under Family Law code 3102 (a) If either parent of an unemancipated minor child is deceased, the children, siblings, parents, and grandparents of the deceased parent may be granted reasonable visitation with the child during the child during the child's minority upon a finding that the visitation would be in the best interest of the minor child.
(c) This section does not apply if the child has been adopted by a person other than a stepparent or grandparent of the child.

My wife and I are being sued by grandparents from the birth mother, who died 3 years ago and had been abused by these same grandparents, we will be applying to the Calif. Supreme Court to protect my wife's rights as an adoptive stepparent. Two fit parents under 3104 and if one is a stepparent can say no to third party visitation even if the other birth parent is alive but has disapeared. But under 3102 section (c) others can sue if a parent died. This makes some stepparents second class citizens with less rights than other stepparents.

If you are in particular group of parents or grandparents who have adopted then your rights are in peril. If you can help our case, an amicus brief would be great, but just commiseration would help, then let us know. We will be filing with the court by August 4th, 2003. We have faith that we will win in the end but it has been 3 years of lawsuits and taken up lots of our family resources.