If your child is getting divorced, and you want to continue seeing your grandchildren, you may wonder what rights you might have. Fortunately, in most cases, grandparents have strong enough ties with their children that they are able to arrange grandparents’ visitation when their children have custody of the grandchildren. However, there are situations where grandparent’s visitation rights can get complex. This is where a child custody lawyer may prove useful.
The Elliot Green Law Offices are child custody attorneys in Brooklyn, New York who help families create parenting plans that work. When it comes to grandparent’s rights and child custody, you may have several options when it comes to visitation of your grandchildren. The Elliot Green Law Offices may be able to assist grandparents in Brooklyn, New York who are being denied visitation of their grandchildren.
Resolving Grandparent’s Visitation Outside of Court
Many disputes regarding grandparents’ visitation rights can be resolved outside of court or through mediation. Talk to your children about visitation with the grandchildren. In many cases, children can visit grandparents when each parent has parenting time with the child. Often, this kind of visitation is negotiated between the grandparent and his or her child to visit the grandchild. The courts assume that parents will act in the best interests of their children, which means that parents will generally strive to ensure that their children can continue to have a relationship with their grandparents after divorce. With a proper discussion between parents and grandparents, grandparent’s visitation issues may be able to be addressed in the parenting plan when the parents get divorced.
But what happens if you are concerned that your children will not be fit parents? What if you are concerned that you’ll be denied visitation rights to your grandchildren. What if you don’t have a strong relationship with your children, but do have strong ties with your grandchildren? What are your options then? The Elliot Green Law Offices are child custody attorneys in Brooklyn, New York who may be able to help you understand the options that you might have.
Seeking Custody of Grandchildren in Brooklyn, New York
There are instances where grandparents may need to seek custody of their grandchildren. For example, there are situations where grandparents may become concerned for the safety of their grandchildren. Their children may be drug users or in an abusive relationship. Their children may not be able to financially support the children or have certain illnesses that make it difficult or impossible for them to care for their children. Or, both parents may pass away and the grandparents may want to get custody of the children—in this case, seeking custody may be easier, unless the children’s other grandparents also want custody.
In general, the courts will award custody to the child’s parents, and it can be very difficult to get the court to award custody to a non-parent. However, the courts have a mandate to act in the best interests of the children. If you are concerned for the safety of your grandchildren, a child custody lawyer like the Elliot Green Law Offices in Brooklyn, New York may be able to help you fight to get custody of your grandchildren and protect their best interests.
Seeking Visitation of Grandchildren in Brooklyn, New York
If you are actively being denied visitation of your grandchildren, by the child’s parent or parents, you may be able to petition the court for visitation rights. The courts will generally assume that when parents deny grandparents visitation, they are doing so because it is in the best interests of the child. The only way that you might be able to fight this presumption is by showing the ways in which visitation would be in the children’s best interest. You may need to show that the children have a strong established relationship with you and prove to the court that denying this relationship could be damaging to the child. You may also need to show the court the ways in which the child’s parents might be denying your visitation rights.
The courts will generally consider what is in the child’s best interests, looking at the child’s age, the child’s wishes, how far away the grandparents live from the children, the physical health of the grandparents and whether supervised visitation would be appropriate. Other factors that will be considered include the grandparent’s relationship with the children and grandchildren, and your ability to care for children and provide a nurturing environment.
If you need to petition the court for visitation of your grandchildren, it is important to build a strong case. The Elliot Green Law Offices are Brooklyn, New York child custody lawyers who may be able to assist you as you navigate this process. Contact us today to learn more.
