Grandparent’s Custody Rights

For as long as we can remember, time spent with grandparents is a precious and integral part of a child’s experience. The loving and nurturing relationship established between a grandparent and a grandchild often provides the child with benefits that cannot be derived from any other relationships. However, nowadays, grandchildren are often the product of broken homes, and have been deprived of much of the contact with their grandparents. In their lives, grandparents and children form deep and loving attachments but when death, divorce, or estrangement tears the family apart, these caretakers may find themselves without any legal right to maintain any contact with the grandchildren they love and care about.

Regaining grandparent’s custody rightsSo what can a grandparent do to regain his rights and reestablish the relationship between him and his grandchild? The answer is simple. Ask a court to resolve the issue in a legal way, awarding you full/partial custody or visitation rights to the grandchild. Any grandparent can file a petition for full physical and legal custody. However, this petition can be filed only under certain circumstances that are determined by the court. The grandparent must show the court that he has an established relationship with his grandchild, a relationship based on love and care. The judge takes its decision based on what is known as “the best interest of the child“.
Some of the interests of a child include the child’s physical, intellectual, emotional, moral and spiritual well-being. A judge will consider the relationship that has been developed between the child and the grandparent and the amount of time they have spent together. Also a great importance is given to the preferences of the child and the willingness of the biological parents to cooperate. Please note that the judge will always make sure that the custody arrangement does not interfere with a parent-child relationship already established. Therefore, if an existing grandparent-grandchild relationship is absent, the judge will try to measure what a grandparent did to establish a relationship against what they could reasonably have done under the given circumstances. It is clear that no court will intervene if the grandparent has made no effort to establish a relationship with his grandchild.

How to gain grandparent’s custody rightsThere are two main types of child custody: legal custody and physical custody. Legal custody determines who will take the major decisions in the child’s life. These major decisions can involve health care, education, religion, and many more. Physical custody involves who the child will live with and spend their time with. In most cases, a parent will have primary physical custody of the child and the other (non-custodial) parent will have child visitation rights.
There is only one problem here…the grandparent may have to prove to the court that some kind of harm will occur to the grandchild in the absence of visitation. Only a very strong interest would be sufficient to allow a court to interfere with the parent’s right to raise his child without anyone’s help. It may be difficult to prove that harm will occur to the grandchild’s health and well-fare if the court does not order the parents to allow visitation to the grandparent. This is very hard to prove and sustain in court. There are four basic things that must be demonstrated to the judge. First, the grandparent must prove to the judge that it is in the best interest of the child to be in his custody. Second, grandparent must make the court believe that he has genuine care, concern and love for the child. Third, the grandparent’s relationship with the child must have begun with the consent of a parent or pursuant to a court order. Finally, the grandparent must demonstrate that he had assumed the role of a parent for one year, or that the child lacks proper parental care. Also if the grandparent believes that there is parental abuse, neglect, substance abuse, or mental illness, he must demonstrate these facts to the court.

Partial Custody Rights and Visitation RightThe custody rights of grandparents may also be sought for partial physical custody of the child, or visitation rights. Partial custody rights of grandparents allow them to spend time with their grandchild without the custodial parent’s supervision or approval.
In some cases, a grandparent may be granted child visitation. This allows him to spend time with the grandchild, but under the supervision of the custodial parent. To encourage this practice, the legislations of most countries or states have some type of “grandparent visitation” statute through which grandparents can ask a court to grant them the legal right to maintain their relationships with their loved grandchildren. Also, child visitation rights are typically not denied to grandparents unless there is strong cause for denial.
A grandparent can ask for partial custody or visitation under these circumstances:
1) When a birth parent is deceased
2) When the parents are divorced, or have been separated for six months or more even if they never married
3) When the child has resided with a grandparent for twelve months or more and the child was taken away from home by a parent.
In order for the grandparent to have and maintain visitation with grandchildren, he should attempt to build meaningful relationship with the child as soon as possible. If his efforts to have visitation rights are excluded by the child’s parent, the grandparent should document his attempted contacts and continue to send birthday and holiday cards and presents to the grandchild. Also he can take any other reasonable steps to maintain the relationship established with the grandchild. If visitation cannot be amicably arranged, the grandparent should consult with an attorney for an explanation of their rights and the local laws regarding his visitation rights.