Grandparent Visitation

GRANDPARENT VISITATION ISSUES/RIGHTS

There are a number of circumstances in which grandparents have been found to have a right to visitation with their grandchildren. In some cases, they are even awarded custody.

Generally, grandparents' rights only exist through their biological child who is either the father or mother of the child or children in question. It is the parents right to control what, if any, time the grandparents spend with the child.

It is assumed that the relationship between the children and the grandparents will be protected by the parent who is the child of those grandparents. There is no exception in these circumstances where the child of the grandparent(s) in question is not able to protect that relationship due to that parent being disabled, deceased, or otherwise legally unavailable. In those cases, the grandparents can seek the reasonable visitation they would have experienced if the parent who is their child was available to protect that relationship.

At Anderson & Associates, P.C., we have represented both grandparents seeking visitation and parents seeking to prevent or limit such visitation.

GRANDPARENTAL CUSTODY

The general rule is that grandparents have no right to custody of their grandchildren. In extreme cases, however, where a grandparent or grandparents have a history of being the primary caregivers for an extended period of time, courts have reviewed the circumstances to determine whether the situation is so extreme as to allow the child or children to continue to reside with the grandparent(s) rather than be transferred to the parent(s).

GRANDPARENTAL INTERFERENCE

Extended family is often an issue in divorce and post-divorce matters. In our practice, we have encountered numerous situations involving conflict between one parent and either that parent's own parent or the other parent or spouse's parents. The scenarios are wide and varied, but generally relate to either allegedly improper transfers of assets between one party and his or her parents immediately before or during a dissolution of marriage proceeding; or utilization of the of time with the grandparent(s) to defeat the visitation rights of one of the parents. Such disputes are common. At Anderson & Associates, P.C., we have encountered countless such scenarios and have represented clients on all sides of such disputes. We have extensive experience in recognizing and evaluating these issues. We employ a strategic combination of negotiation and litigation on behalf of our client to obtain a stable, effective arrangement relative to such matters.