Grandparents rights now a complicated, contentious issue

The issues surrounding grandparents rights have really become remarkably controversial in recent years, as state after state has confronted the issues with legislation and individual grandparents have been forced to turn to the courts to maintain any semblance of grandparents rights.

Today due to prevalent issues such as divorce, child abuse, or drug abuse grandparents are often the party left without any consideration. Often in a divorce the parents of a non-custodial parent end up cut off from their grandchildren. This can be particularly true if the grandparents and grandchildren live a far distance from each other.

More and more, grandparent’s rights have become a contentious issue. On the one hand why should grandchildren be denied time with a grandparent because their parents no longer live together or are getting a divorce? On the other hand, at what point does the involvement of the courts contravene a parent’s civil liberties?

People going through a divorce often feel that they have lost control over their lives and for grandparents it can be worse because they aren’t specifically protected by statutes and legal precedent. Unfortunately, just because a grandparent is being denied access to their grandchild does not necessarily mean they will qualify for court ordered visitation, which can be a maddening situation for grandparents.

Grandparent visitation is governed by statute and case law, and each state has their own laws. In the case of grandparent’s visitation the court can order that the children be made available to the grandparent on specific day for a specified amount of time, but the question is will it?

The requirements for court ordered visitation vary by state. In most, but not all states, if the grandchild’s parents are still married the grandparents are not entitled to visitation. Depending upon the state, the following situations may give rise to grandparent visitation:

• Pending divorce
• Parents already divorced
• Parent drug use or child abuse
• Parent deceased
• Child born out of wedlock

As you can see, grandparents rights are a complicated issue. If you are a grandparent that is being denied time with your grandchildren without good reason you have a big decision to make. Please visit The Custody Center to find the best resources available for grandparents to seek and obtain their grandparents rights.