When do grandparents rights apply?

Grandparents have always had limited rights to visitation and custody of their grandchildren, and in 2000 the US Supreme Court limited these rights even further through its decision in the case of Troxell v. Granville. Currently the laws vary in each state. It is important to understand, however, that there are still some situations where a grandparent may have legal rights regarding a grandchild.

Although a grandparent in many states lacks the ability to petition the court for custody of a grandchild, it may be possible to do so on a temporary basis in an emergency situation. This situation most commonly occurs when a parent passes away but may also take place in other situations like when the legal parents are unable to adequately care for their children.

A grandparent can petition the courts for guardianship of his grandchild if there is an emergency to justify it, the parental rights of the parents have been terminated, or if the child has been living with the grandparents for an extended period of time due to the lack of care by the child’s parents. Although being appointed as a guardian does not automatically include legal custody, guardians are eligible to petition the court for full custody of a child.

Grandparents visitation rights is one area where grandparents can petition the court to give them access to the child in most any state. Typically, in order for the court to grant visitation to the grandparents, they must establish that the parents of the child are either divorced, separated or are planning to divorce, or that the child’s parent has passed away.