To young children, grandparents are great — they give them candy and let them stay up past their bedtime, take them fishing or do other fun activities with them, and provide care in the absence of parents. When parties divorce or separate, the grandparents still want to be involved in their grandchildren’s lives and have rights in this regard. Because our focus is on matters involving the family, we are keenly aware of the important role grandparents play, and work to keep them involved in your children’s life and allowed to exercise visitation rights.
The rights of a grandparent upon the death or divorce of parents is governed by state statute. A grandparent may be allowed visitation as outlined below:
- When the visitation is determined to be in the best interests of the child — Evidence of a strong bond between grandparent and child helps to determine that continued exposure and time spent with the grandparent is beneficial to the child.
- When the visitation does not interfere with the relationship the child has with the parent — Grandparent visitation must be in a format that does not otherwise take the place of or interfere with the parent’s time with and custody of the child.
- When the child has lived with the grandparent — Upon death or divorce of one of the parents, allowing visitation to the grandparents when the child has previously spent time living with the grandparents is allowed.
- When the child is adopted — In cases where a stepparent adopts the child, the grandparents of the birth parent are permitted visitation.
As always with disputes involving children, the well-being both physically and emotionally of your child is key. We are trained to recognize instances that promote the healthy environment of your child and work hard to make sure that is the environment created.
For help with issues of grandparent visitation, call an experienced Minnesota family law attorney. We understand the importance of grandparents in your children’s lives and help create a visitation plan that is fair and reasonable.
