SACRAMENTO, Calif. /California Newswire/ — Today, Calif. Assemblyman Mike Gatto’s (D-Glendale) legislation to provide access for adult children who wish to visit an ailing parent was signed into law by Governor Brown, culminating almost two-year’s worth of work on this issue. The legislation, AB 1085, will provide legal recourse for children who are denied access to a parent, by their parent’s current spouse or another family member.

With divorce and remarriage common, there is a possibility of conflict between a subsequent spouse and a child from an ailing parent’s previous marriage. Current law provides no remedial mechanism for children or relatives to petition a court for visitation.