Grandparents’ Rights

The role of a grandparent in a child’s life is unique to every family situation but many grandparents play a significant role in a child’s upbringing.  Yet these relationships are often overlooked or marginalised following a breakdown of the relationship between the parents of the child.  The parents can be caught in their own conflict and forget to consider the impact on the child of losing a relationship with their extended family.

Restrictions on a child’s time with their grandparents does not always follow a relationship breakdown.  It may be that a difference of opinion between the parent(s) and grandparent, especially on matters relating to the child, causes problems in maintaining the grandparent/grandchild relationship.

Do grandparents have rights?

Grandparents have no automatic right to see their grandchildren in England and Wales and this can lead to the parent(s) withholding contact.  Efforts to change this position and introduce a presumption that grandparents should be involved in a child’s life continue and Machins can keep you updated on developments as and when they happen.

What steps can be taken?

Those with parental responsible for a child, typically the parents, can decide who their child spends time with and when.  At Machins we encourage alternatives to court proceedings as a means to resolve these disputes while helping to repair and maintain relationships. 

Discussions with the child’s parents are the first step and these discussions can involve a Family Law mediator, collaborative lawyer or even social worker to navigate the issues and disputes and aid in reaching a resolution.

Applying to the court

In the event non-court resolutions prove unsuccessful, grandparents do not have an automatic right to apply to the Family Court for contact with their grandchildren and must first ask the court’s permission to make the necessary application.

There are exceptions to this requirement to ask the court’s permission to apply which largely require the child to have lived with the grandparent.  If you believe these exceptions may apply to you, please contact Machins to discuss further.

If permission is granted by the court, substantive court proceedings will follow to decide whether the child should have contact with the grandparent applying.  As mentioned above, there is no presumption that children should have contact with their extended family and the burden is on the grandparent to show contact is in the child’s best interest.  Machins expert Family Law team can help navigate this difficult process and demonstrate the child’s life will benefit from a relationship with their grandparent.

Please contact us if you would like more information about the issues raised in this article of any aspect of family law.