Grandparents Do Have Legal Rights

While most family relationships remain civil enough, some situations can become ugly enough that some members of a family end up being excluded from seeing loved ones. For example, grandparents don’t have an actual legal right to see their grandchildren, though can take legal steps to enforce their grandparent rights.

Child Welfare the Key

Like a standard child custody case, the courts will seek to take into consideration what situation is best for the affected children. If a previous bond can be shown prior to the breakup of a marriage or relationship between the child’s parents, the odds of obtaining some sort of visitation privileges will likely increase.

However, the motivations involved for those grandparents need to be specifically focused on areas that will benefit a child. If that focus is directed in some other fashion, the court will take that into consideration when a final disposition of the case occurs.

Important Factors

Other state laws differ, but the state of Indiana allows grandparents to apply for visitation rights in one of three circumstances. The first involves situations where parents of the child or children have ended their marriage. The second is related to whether or not a child’s parent is deceased. Finally, a familial relationship must exist with a child whose parents never married, with legal paternity recognition a necessary component.

By the same token, the parents or the custodial parent can take steps to block any visits if they can show that detrimental aspects to a child’s development could occur. Previous comments about taking a child away from a parent for some perceived issue are likely to come back and haunt those grandparents who attempt to address the issue from a legal perspective.

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