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Grandparents And Divorce
Many people have fond memories of times with their grandparents. Grandparents often spoil their grandchildren, teach them valuable skills, and provide a source of adult support outside of the parents. It’s a necessary bond that can be very meaningful for both grandparents and grandchildren.
In most situations, a divorce will not impact a grandparent’s relationship with their grandchild. However, it occasionally can. Sometimes, grandparents want to sue for visitation or even custody of their grandchild.
The U.S. Supreme Court has determined that grandparents do not have a constitutional right to their grandchildren. That is because parents have the right to make decisions on behalf of their children, and if they do not want the grandparents to have access to the kids, they have the right to make that decision.
However, there are rare cases where grandparents can win a right to visitation or even custody of their grandkids. Courts will usually only hear the case if a parent is incompetent, incarcerated, or deceased. In those cases, grandparents could argue that contact is in the child’s best interest since they can serve as a positive adult influence.
Grandparents Rights in Texas
There are specific situations where a grandparent may have rights to their grandchildren, but visitation must be in the child’s best interest. The parents must be divorced, the child needs to have been abused, or a court needs to have terminated the parent-child relationship.
If there has been a child protection case, or the child has been orphaned, or the parents have given up their parental rights, the parent-child relationship is considered to have been terminated. However, if the child has since been adopted by a third party, the grandparent does not have the right to sue for access. At that point, the child is considered to be legally a member of the other family.
A grandparent might want to sue for custody if their child and the grandchild’s other parent are not capable of supporting the child. A grandparent can also sue for custody if the grandchild has lived with them for at least six months. Additionally, if you have custody, you have the right to sue for child support from both child’s parents.
It’s not always clear-cut
Grandparents’ rights are complicated, and they are not absolute. The court wants to protect the parents’ rights to determine who has access to their child and understands there might be many reasons that a parent does not want their own parent to be around their child. Because of this, grandparents do not always have the right to see their grandchildren if the parents refuse.
However, in cases where the parents are not capable of providing a stable home to the children, grandparents can sue for some rights. This means that grandparents can step in if their own children are unstable and provide a better home environment for their grandchildren.
If you are a grandparent who has been declined access to your grandchildren, you are probably very disappointed and possibly even angry. Depending on the reasons, you might have legal recourse. Consider the entire situation, and if the parents have been abusive or negligent, you might have the legal right to visit the children. If you believe it is in your grandchildren’s best interest to have a relationship with you, and any of the above situations apply, you will want to talk to an experienced Texas grandparent’s rights lawyer. Our team is experienced in handling these kinds of family conflicts and explaining to grandparents what rights they have. Give us a call today to learn about the next steps for gaining custody or visitation.
