AB 1085 Signed Into Law - Ensures the Right of All Adults to Visit with Friends and Family

Last month, the governor signed AB 1085 (Gatto) a bill in which the Legislature declared that "every adult in this state has the right to visit with, and receive mail and telephone or electronic communication from, whomever he or she so chooses, unless a court has specifically ordered otherwise." AB 1085's passage should, once and for all, end the notion that spouses, family members, agents under powers of attorney, or anyone else without a specific court order, can impair an adult Californian's right to visit or otherwise communicate with another person. Adult residents of nursing homes and assisted living facilities already enjoy protected visitation rights. AB 1085 ensures those rights extend to all adults regardless of their home setting.