Too often, part of the collateral damage of a couple’s divorce is their children’s relationship with their grandparents. Of course, there are other situations like death, incarceration and illness that can tear families apart and leave grandparents fighting for the right to have custody or even just visitation, with their grandchildren.
Laws regarding grandparents’ rights vary throughout the country. Under Colorado law, grandparents are allowed to ask for a court order that would grant them visitation rights under any of the following conditions:
— The parents of the child are legally separated, divorced, or the marriage has been annulled.
— The child’s parents no longer have responsibility for him or her. This could be the case if another party has been given legal responsibility of the child, or the child has been placed in foster care, for example
— The grandparent’s child (the parent of the grandchild) is dead.
In some cases, grandparents can also seek visitation rights when the parents of the child are not married.
It’s important to understand that the well-being of the child is of primary concern to courts when making these decisions about visitation and custody. Proving that the child needs to maintain a relationship with his or her grandparents can sometimes be a challenge from a legal point of view, even if it’s clear to the grandparents who want that relationship.
At our firm, we advise grandparents of their legal options based on their family’s specific information. We work diligently to help grandparents who choose to pursue a court order to get access to their grandchildren as permitted under the law.
We know that grandparents often play a significant role in children’s upbringing, and in many cases help raise them. In some cases, they may be the only stabilizing force in a child’s life. If you want to pursue legal action to obtain access, visitation or custody of your grandchildren, contact us to schedule a free consultation to see how we can help you.