Absent a formal legal grant of rights, grandparents may find it much more difficult to preserve their relationship with their grandchildren, or to protect their grandchildren from being restored to the custody of a parent who is not ready to assume responsibility for them.
You can get help on this from places like The Custody Center that specialize in making sure that grandparents know their grandparent rights and are able to exercise them under current law.
It is sometimes best to try to resolve grandparenting time problems amicably, as opposed to through the courts. But if you don’t know your rights then you may find yourself not knowing how to deal with your children if they say you have no rights regarding your grandchildren.
You do have rights, and you need to know them. This law can be bewildering at times but legal experts can explain things simply and directly, and provide state by state guidelines to help your specific situation.
Don’t make negative comments to your grandchildren about their parents, or make them part of an emotional conflict between you and their parents. The children don’t need the stress, and that is perhaps the fastest way to get their parents to decide that your grandchildren don’t need you in their lives.
Instead focus on stressing your place in your grandchildren’s life and insist on what the law entitles you to. If you know your rights and they are denied, that is when you may need to take action. But if you don’t know what your grandparents rights are in the first place, you are likely to lose them. You must take charge of making sure they are respected.
Grandparents Rights Resources: The Custody Center
