Grandparents’ Rights in Family Law

In addition to providing a warm, loving, and nurturing environment, grandparents can offer their grandchildren years of wisdom and experience. That’s why it’s ideal for children to be able to spend regular quality time with their grandparents. Typically, a child’s parents are delighted to drop him or her off at grandma and grandpa’s home since this also provides an opportunity for the parents to spend quality time alone.

However, in some cases, a divorce or the death of one parent can threaten the warm relationship the children have with their grandparents. This occurs if the mother or father does not permit the children to contact the parents of the other parent.

In situations like these, grandparents may need to enforce their visitation rights in order to maintain their cherished relationship with their grandchildren. So grandparents should be familiar with their custody and visitation legal rights.

Grandparent Visitation Rights

State laws have been enacted to assist with pursuing grandparent visitation rights regarding their grandchildren (Utah Code § 30-5-2). However, although grandparents have a legal right to request visitation, the law focuses on the child, not the grandparents.

The law presumes that, in most cases, the interests of the child are best served by the parents making life decisions for him or her. This includes both parents’ right to decide whether the child can visit the grandparents.

Therefore, grandparents must prove to the court that continuing visitation would be for the benefit of the child and that the child would suffer if grandparent visitation rights were revoked. In order to prove that visitation would be in the best interest of the child, several factors need to be proven.

Some of these include:

• A clearly established prior relationship: Grandparents must have created and enjoyed a relationship with the child. If the grandparent has just recently been involved in the child’s life, a court would be less likely to grant visitation rights.

• Non-intact family or unfit parents: If the child’s parents are separated, divorced, or incompetent in some way, then the court may grant visitation rights to the grandparents since their visitation may be in the child’s best interests. The same might also be true if one parent is deceased.

• The child’s preference: If a minor is old enough to express his or her opinion regarding visiting the grandparents, the judge would consider the child’s thoughts when making a decision on visitation rights.

Although it may be painful for grandparents to accept, the law respects the rights of parents regarding raising and protecting their children. This includes their decision to grant visitation to grandparents. A judge would override parental rights and grant court-ordered visitation only if it’s in the best interest of the child.

Grandparent Custody Rights

Different from visitation (temporary, brief visits) grandparent custody refers to permanent care for the children. If grandparents are seeking legal custody of a grandchild, they must show the court convincing evidence that both parents are unfit. It must be proven that physical or emotional harm would result to the child if he or she were to remain in the custody of the parents.

Although it can be quite difficult for grandparents to seek custody of their grandchildren, a judge would look for certain factors in determining whether to grant custody of the child to the grandparents.

Such factors include:

• Unfit parents: If the parents have been negligent in caring for even the basic needs of their children, they may be deemed unfit. Perhaps the parents are struggling with a mental illness or an addiction to drugs or alcohol, which has resulted in the child being neglected. If the grandparents had to step in to care for the neglected child, they may petition the court for physical custody.

• Child abuse: Another scenario where a judge may declare the parents unfit is if they have been abusive to the child. This would be the case if Child Protective Services had to get involved due to the abuse. The court may determine that leaving a child in such a hostile environment could cause permanent harm. So, it may be in the child’s best interest for the grandparents to have custody of their grandchildren.

• Death of one or both of the grandchild’s parents: The untimely death of a parent can have a huge emotional impact on the life of the child. Typically, the surviving parent will retain full custody of his or her child. However, if the parent does not want to accept the responsibility of caring for the child, the grandparents can petition the court for custody. The same would be true if both parents were to pass away.

• Relinquish parental rights: There are certain circumstances that may cause a parent to give up his or her custodial rights to the grandparents. The parent may do this on a temporary basis (such as for military duty) or for an extended period. A judge would consider the circumstances regarding the parent’s decision and whether such a request would be in the child’s best interests before granting custody to the grandparents.

As clearly seen, seeking custody of a grandchild isn’t always easy. Not only can it be a volatile situation between family members, but the courts highly respect the parent’s fundamental rights. However, if there is a situation that may cause harm to the children, the court may grant custody to the grandparents.

Protect Your Rights as a Grandparent Today

Have you suffered the emotional blow of having the visitation time with your grandchildren taken away, and are you concerned with their well-being? Know that you have rights.

The law in Utah entitles you to pursue visitation or even custody of your precious grandchildren. However, the process isn’t simple. You would require the assistance of a knowledgeable and compassionate family lawyer who can navigate you through the legal process.

Your family law attorney can help you understand what the court looks for in granting visitation or custody of your grandchildren. Further, your lawyer would know how to devise a strategy to build a strong argument in your favor. This is crucial since the courts heavily favor the rights of the parents regarding decisions they make in the life of the child.

At Brown Family Law, we understand how painful it can be to lose your precious visitation rights with your dear grandchildren. Our team of experienced lawyers knows how to protect your rights as grandparents so you can preserve that warm relationship you should have with your grandchildren.

Let our compassionate family lawyers help you meet the challenge. Contact us at (801) 685-9999 for a divorce consultation today.