There are many things that can happen that can cause a grandparent to lose the right to visit their grandchildren. For most grandparents nothing could be more devastating. Some of the things that can cause this unfortunate situation are divorce, the death of one or both of the parents, or just a disagreement with the parents.
With current laws and Supreme Court decisions, it is very difficult for a grandparent to force visitation rights. These are some steps you can take to protect your rights before things go bad, recommended by The Custody Center where you will find much more specific information about these issues.
First, make sure you are maintaining a close relationship with your grandchildren. If you see a divorce coming for your child and you have a good relationship with your child you can join their divorce case and have a visitation schedule for yourself put into your child’s divorce decree. This will protect your rights no matter what happens later. This is a critical step to take especially if you do not have a good relationship with your child’s spouse.
Maybe the most important thing is to make sure you keep relations between yourself, your child, and their spouse close and amiable. If the relationship between the adults does get sour, hire a professional mediator. This will give everyone the perspective and advice of an uninterested third party. Having called in a mediator will also help your case if you do have to go to court later.
Keep records of all gifts, phone calls, cards, and contact that you have with your grandchildren. This may seem odd especially if things are good at the moment but what you are doing is preparing for the future. If sometime in the future, something happens and you do have to go to court to fight for your rights the more documentation that you can bring to court to show that you were a significant part of the child’s life the better. Remember that forcing a court to override the wishes of a child’s natural parents is tough to accomplish.
There are some resources available to you. The Custody Center is a great place to start. Most important is that it offers a guide to the laws of specific states. You should get the laws in the state where your grandchild resides.
NEIL
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