My son and his wife are splitting up and she says she won’t let me take my granddaughter for weekends any more. She can’t do that, can she?

Yes, she can!

Grandparents have very limited legal rights when it comes to custody and visitation with grandchildren.

As a grandparent, if you have a “sufficient existing relationship” with a grandchild, you may petition the divorce court for rights of visitation or access to the grandchild. This does not make you a party to your son’s divorce, however.

If the court finds that there is a sufficient existing relationship with the grandchild, or that you have made a sufficient effort to establish a relationship, then the court may refer you to mediation or it may hold a hearing on your petition for visitation or access and hear any objections that the parents may have as well.

If the divorce court finds that visitation is in the best interests of the child and that it would not significantly interfere with the parent-child relationship or with the parent’s authority over the child, the the court may award certain visitation rights to you.

Court-ordered rights may include regular telephone contact or weekend visits or time spent with you over school vacations.

Courts are very reluctant, however, to grant grandparents special rights in divorce proceedings, and the criteria for granting visitation rights are very strict.

The court will consider the age of the child, the need for stability, the preference of the child and the previous relationship between the grandparents and child, among other things.

But remember, if your son or daughter is getting divorce, you have very limited rights to insist on contact with the grandchildren.
– It’s the law!

The state is taking my grandchild away from my daughter, and they won’t give me custody. They can’t do that, can they?

Yes, they can!

When a child is taken by the state because of abuse or neglect, the state is supposed to consider placing the child with family members. The state has a great deal of discretion, however, and very often the Department of Human Services places the child in a non-family foster home instead.

Grandparents may assert legal rights respecting a grandchild who is in state custody only by filing a petition to intervene in the child protection proceeding in the District Court. Otherwise, grandparents have no automatic right to be heard.

The court may grant “intervenor” status if the court finds that the grandparents have an existing relationship with the grandchild, or that they have made a sufficient effort to establish a relationship, and that granting the grandparents a right to intervene would be in the best interests of the child.

Once “standing” and intervenor status have been granted, then the grandparents may ask the court to place the child with them or at least grant reasonable rights of visitation and access, including telephone contact, visits at the grandparents’ home or visits at the foster home.

The court may give the grandparents priority consideration for placement if that is in the best interests of the child.

Once there is an adoption agreement with prospective adoptive parents, however, the grandparents’ rights may be suspended.

Remember, if your grandchild has been taken into state custody, you have no automatic right to insist on visits with the child or to require the state to place the child with you. You must first petition the court to be heard and then ask the court to establish these rights.
– It’s the law!