Some grandparents see their grandchildren weekly or even daily. They may provide child care for working parents or may pick the children up from school. They may spend a day together every weekend or might live with them.
Other grandparents may see their grandchildren less frequently but may still have close connections with them. In scenarios where major changes, such as a divorce of their parents, disrupt the child’s family unit, grandparents may have the option of seeking visitation.
If parents do not cooperatively allow grandparents to maintain their connection with a grandchild, the courts may agree that visitation is what is best for grandchildren. How much time with grandchildren can grandparents typically request?
Grandparents generally receive limited visitation
Typically, grandparent visitation litigation is different than a custody case between parents. With rare exceptions for highly unusual and unstable family circumstances, grandparents typically only have the right to request occasional visitation as opposed to shared custody or the more regular visitation that a parent could request.
There is no statutory cap on the grandparent visitation awarded by the courts, but generally grandparents may only receive an overnight every other week or the right to visit for a few hours during the day with their grandchildren. The stronger the connection between the grandparents and the grandchildren and the more time they previously spent with the grandchildren, the greater the likelihood of the courts awarding more visitation.
Discussing family circumstances and the nature of a visitation dispute with a family law attorney can help grandparents assert their rights. Grandparent visitation laws exist to help preserve a critical family relationship, and grandparents cut off from their grandchildren may benefit from taking legal action to reconnect with them.