The risk of losing our grandparents rights

I think most people would agree when we look back at our own childhoods that Grandma and Grandad play a very important role in our lives, especially if they live close by and they are in regular contact. Suddenly removing this bond can be devastating to the grandchild and throw the grandparents into emotional turmoil.

This situation can suddenly come about for many reasons and because of this every case has to be treated individually. Grandparents rights are dealt with differently in many states and every state has it’s own laws which can be very confusing. What does seem to be uniform across the states is that if the wishes of the grandparents are deemed to be of benefit to the well being of a child then they will be taken into account and petitions will be heard as they are seen to have a legitimate interest.

But, parents’ wishes will very rarely be overruled and if a grandparent still feels that the child’s welfare is at risk they will have to prove categorically that their lack of visitation rights will adversely affect the grandchild’s health and well being. Whilst making an impression in court everyone will be showing their best colours and unless you have previous documented and acurate proof the process will be difficult.

All of us hope we will never be put in this situation of losing contact with our grandchildren and having to look at what grandparents rights are all about. The relationship between grandchild and grandparent is often very close and special like no other. It is said that grandchildren are often more enjoyable than children because we have more time on our hands. We have time to listen, to play and to help in our grandchilds development and we certainly have more wisdom and experience the second time around.

Like everything else, we all think it could never happen to us, don’t we? Relationships with your child and their partner couldn’t be better at the moment but consider what would happen if circumstances changed. Consider the following possibilities:

• Your child dies and the ‘in-law’ marries again and moves away.
• The biological parents die and the other grandparents are given custody and feel it is in the grandchild’s interest to break all ties with you.
• The parents divorce and your own child has been refused visitation rights.
• The parents put the grandchild up for adoption.

As the procedures to obtain custody or visitation rights are complicated it is sensible to appoint a local attorney with experience in Grandparents rights.

The best way for the grandparent to address the problem is to first try to work with the parent, parents or custodians to stay in the child’s life. If there is a concern about the welfare of the child, the best way to keep an eye on the situation is for the grandparent to remain involved. Even if the grandchild has moved across the country, grandparents should try to maintain contact with the child on a regular basis by phone, letters and cards or email.