What To Know About Grandparent Rights

Grandkids are fantastic! Even though some say it’s delightful to spoil them rotten and then return them to their parents, you are one of those grandparents who’d just as soon keep the little darlings with you all the time! Unfortunately, your child has been involved in a bitter divorce, and their spouse has been keeping the grandkids away from you for as long as you can remember. You’re worried the grandchildren won’t remember you at all by the time you get to see them again—if ever. The way things are looking, you aren’t hopeful at all. And the truth is, Florida law protects the rights of parents in these situations.

The Courts can Intervene 

In Florida, grandparents are not automatically assumed to have visitation rights with their grandchildren, although it is possible to be granted reasonable visitation rights under certain circumstances:

1. If grandparents can prove that a parent is missing, legally unfit, in a vegetative state, or dead;
2. If one parent is missing, legally unfit, in a vegetative state, or dead, and the other has convictions for violence or felonies, (indicating they may be a danger to the children);
3. If a dependent child has been removed from the home and neither parent has custody.

Are the Child’s Parents Unfit? 

Simply wanting to have visitation as a grandparent does not guarantee a petition will be granted. It will be the grandparent’s responsibility to prove that the parents meet the criteria above or demonstrate that the parents are legally unfit. Short of that, the case will be dismissed—and grandparents may be ordered to pay court costs and attorney’s fees for the other party in the case. On the other hand, if you can provide enough evidence demonstrating that the parents are unfit, mediation and/or a court decision on the matter will be based on:

1. The length of the relationship between the children and grandparents;
2. The emotional ties between the children and grandparents;
3. The reasons parents wished to terminate contact between the children and grandparents.

One More Consideration 

There is one more situation under which grandparents may seek visitation: when one of the children’s parents has been found criminally liable for the other parent’s death, or civilly liable for causing that death. Even in this situation, however, it must be demonstrated that the child will be at risk with the surviving parent, who is presumably unfit.

Protecting Grandparents’ Rights 

The dedicated Boca Raton family law attorneys at WiseLieberman are always looking out for the best interests of our clients. If you are a grandparent who has been denied contact with your grandchildren, let’s talk. Schedule a confidential consultation in our Boca Raton office today.

Source:

leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0000-0099/0039/Sections/0039.509.html