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Can grandparents fight for visitation rights?

On Behalf of | Jun 3, 2018 | Family Law

Like many grandparents in Texas, you love your grandchildren and want to spend as much time as possible spoiling them. Unfortunately, you may not get to see them as much as you would like. In fact, as time goes on, you notice you have been seeing your grandchildren less and less. This might be due to the parents not having as much time to bring over the kids or your grandchildren’s busy schedules as they get older. However, if the parents are divorced or one parent has died, these might also be reasons you see your grandchildren less.

You might wonder if you can petition the court to see your grandchildren more often. This is a tricky situation, explains FindLaw, but often, grandparents who are being denied a relationship with their grandkids are able to successfully gain more visitation time. The outcome depends on the reasons you are not seeing your grandchildren, their family situation and the best interests of the children.

Children’s best interests

For example, say the parents have divorced. Your son does not have primary custody and the mother is angry and attempts to prevent the children from seeing your side of the family. Additionally, you suspect the mother’s current relationship and lifestyle choices are subjecting the children to neglect or abuse. You may be able to convince the court that it is in the children’s best interests to investigate their situation and order visitation time so you can maintain a good relationship with the children.

The parent’s rights

On the other hand, a judge is not likely to want to infringe on a parent’s decision-making rights when the court deems the parent fit and she is meeting the children’s needs. Their mother may be feeling overwhelmed and busy, and may not have as much time to bring them over for visits as she would like. You might have more success reaching out, telling her you miss the grandchildren and offering to help without compromising her rights as the parent.

It can be difficult when you want to see more of your grandchildren, but you may have options for seeking more time with them.

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