Preserving Grandparent Visitation – What You Need to Know About Grandparent Rights

Visitation and custody issues are often the most difficult and painful part of a divorce or separation, especially when both parties can’t reach an agreement. The issue becomes even more complicated when grandparent rights are involved. Just because you, as a separated or divorced father were granted visitation rights, doesn’t mean that your child’s grandparents will also have that right. Although it may seem like common sense to allow children to continue to enjoy the love and affection of their grandparents, the courts unfortunately don’t agree.

As a father, you have to be prepared for the very real possibility that the mother may deny visitation rights to your parents. Grandparent visitation can be granted even over her objections, but the courts have certain guidelines on the issue of grandparent rights and they vary from state to state. In general though, the guidelines take into account what is in the best interest of the child before making a decision. Those guidelines may include:

• The wishes of the child, if they are old enough to make a decision for themselves
• The strength of the bond between the grandparents and grandchild
• Whether the child will suffer emotional harm if the grandparent/grandchild bond is broken

If the mother of your child does deny grandparent visitation, you do have recourse! But you will need to educate yourself on the laws in your state and consult with an attorney in order to determine how to go about securing grandparent visitation rights for your parents. In a best case scenario, this can be settled out of court through mediation, and often is. But you should also be prepared — you may have to go to court, but it is worth it to preserve your parent’s rights to spend time with their grandchild and to continue to be a part of their life.