A lot of people ask me when is the best time to get a court to grant grandparents rights. The important thing to note is that it is always best if you can have grandparents visitation included at the time of your child’s divorce. If you or your attorney can negotiate directly with the parents of your grandchildren then adding terms such as grandparents visitation is far easier than it become later.
Each different state provides the appropriate venue which can make custody and visitation determinations. Where a divorce is pending, the appropriate venue for making a visitation decision involving the grandparents and grandchildren is almost always the court hearing the divorce proceedings. Some states also permit visitation requests after a domestic relations order has been rendered or as an original proceeding, but in these cases a satisfactory resolution becomes harder.
If you can negotiate grandparents visitation with the parents of your grandkids at the time of their divorce you should do it and try to get it included in the divorce order the court issues. For a lot of advice about how to correctly deal with your grandchild’s parents and the courts check out my book No Greater Loss which covers these issues in depth.
