Grandparents’ rights are somewhat of a misnomer. Although grandparents do not have an inherent right to see their grandchildren, courts will listen to arguments that may allow it. The Law Office of Taylor B. Warner, APLC works with parties involved in the custody process, making the strongest possible arguments if your case proceeds to a hearing.
Grandparents often form a close relationship with their grandchildren over time. That closeness can be threatened by a divorce or when the parents’ relationship ends. There are no set defined grandparents’ rights under California law, but it may be possible for grandparents to gain access to their grandchildren.
Reach out to the grandparent’s rights attorney at the Law Office of Taylor B. Warner, APLC to discuss the state of the law and what you may need to persuade a court to allow grandparent visitation. We can review your situation to help you determine the best path forward. Call us today at (909) 466-5575 to schedule an initial consultation or fill out a contact form so we can discuss your specific family law needs.
The Law Office of Taylor B. Warner, APLC is located at 10535 Foothill Blvd, Suite 235 Rancho Cucamonga, California 91730 (open in Google Maps). Our office is located on the South East corner of Foothill & Haven just one block away from the Rancho Cucamonga Superior Court and we handle cases throughout San Bernardino & Riverside Counties.
If two parents are divorced, there is often an issue with whether a grandparent has the right or ability to see their grandchild. For whatever reason, parent(s) may object to the grandparent having any time with their grandchild. When a grandparent has a previous relationship with the grandchild, they may have the ability to take legal action to gain access. However, the law is much less favorable than it used to be, creating a situation where the grandparents may need to fight in court for their visitation. In short, there is no natural right to visitation, but the circumstances in the child’s life may support it.
In a landmark United States Supreme Court case, a divided Court issued a decision that struck at the heart of grandparents’ rights. In Troxel v. Granville, the judges struck down a Washington state law that allowed visitation for any interested party, provided that it was in the best interests of the children. Although this case was not squarely aimed at grandparents’ rights, it did affirm the parents’ rights to control who sees their own children and to direct their upbringing.
There is no clear rule after Troxel. In California, although there is no natural right to grandparent visitation, a judge can order it in limited circumstances. There may be scenarios where it is in the child’s best interests to see their grandparents. If one parent is opposed to the grandparent’s visitation, the court would also need to consider the parent’s rights.
If you are a grandparent, you should not despair and think that there is no chance that you can see your grandchildren if one parent is opposed to it. Remember that public policy does not want there to be a tremendous amount of upheaval after the divorce. If a child already had a very close relationship with a set of grandparents, a court may not want to disturb that because it will harm the child. A child going through a divorce is already losing enough, and the court may not want them to forgo a relationship with a grandparent that they already built.
In addition, courts would decide between what could be two competing factors:
There may be times when the latter factor may outweigh the former. However, if you are a grandparent working to establish visitation rights, you may be fighting an uphill battle. In California, there is a strong public policy that supports parental rights. If the custodial parent does not want you to see the children, you would be the one with the burden of proof to show that the child’s interests should be paramount. Even though there may be a rebuttable presumption against grandparent visitation, you may be able to make your case based on the facts of the situation.
If a grandparent can successfully petition the court, they would receive “reasonable” visitation rights. What those are would be up to the judge. Under California law, the grandparent’s visitation would not be granted if it would conflict with a right of custody or visitation of a birth parent who is not a party to the proceeding.
For help with any issue that involves custody, contact a Rancho Cucamonga grandparents’ rights lawyer today at the Law Office of Taylor B. Warner, APLC. You can call us today at 909-466-5575. We will listen to you to know how to best advocate for you.
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