Grandparents have usually already fulfilled their parental responsibilities. Their children have grown and now have children of their own. Grandparents enjoy a special role in the lives of the grandchildren through choice, not obligation.
They often provide childcare support for parents and can help augment the household’s budget by covering certain expenses. Grandparents often share their knowledge by teaching their grandchildren important life skills. They help maintain family and cultural traditions.
Their bond with their grandchildren can be deep and very meaningful. Unfortunately, that bond can be at risk if there are disruptions to the family unit. In some cases, grandparents find themselves cut out of their grandchildren’s lives. They may question what, if any rights they have in such scenarios. Do grandparents have the right to seek visitation according to Indiana family law statutes?
Special circumstances are necessary for grandparent visitation
Generally speaking, parents have the right to make decisions about the upbringing of their children. If a parent decides that they do not want a grandparent around their children for personal reasons, they usually have the authority to make that decision. Grandparents do not automatically have a right to visitation unless there has been a disruption to the family unit.
In scenarios where the parents of children divorce, grandparents may find themselves cut off from grandchildren with whom they previously enjoyed a close and meaningful relationship. In that situation, Indiana allows grandparents to request visitation with their grandchildren.
Visitation is not guaranteed
For grandparents to successfully request visitation when the parents of their grandchildren divorce, they typically need to have a pre-existing relationship with the grandchildren. If a grandparent expresses their intent to seek visitation rights, sometimes parents may compromise and start granting them time with the children.
Even then, grandparents may want to officially protect their relationship with their grandchildren by seeking formal visitation rights. To do so successfully, they typically need to show the courts that granting them visitation with the grandchildren is in their best interests.
Evidence that establishes a pre-existing relationship and a positive dynamic can go a long way toward convincing a family law judge that grandparent visitation is the right solution for a challenging family conflict. There is no automatic guarantee of success when grandparents seek visitation rights in family court. They often need help making sense of the law, preparing appropriate documents and developing a workable strategy.
Learning more about Indiana custody rules and how the courts determine the best interests of minor children can help grandparents. They may need to take legal action to protect the relationship that they have long cultivated with their grandchildren. Seeking legal guidance is a good way to get started.