What are my legal rights as a grandparent?

So many of us have shared such special memories with our grandparents and they have often played such an important part of our lives. My own personal memories include Sunday afternoons baking with my Nain and being allowed as many spoons of sugar as I wanted in my cup of tea!

A grandparents bond with their grandchildren can be very special which is why it can be such an extremely emotional time if there are barriers to this relationship continuing. In often a very confused topic, it can be difficult to navigate the correct answers to your questions as a grandparent about your legal rights.

Do Grandparents have an automatic right to see their Grandchildren

There is no automatic right for grandparents to spend time with their Grandchildren. This is because, grandparents do not automatically have parental responsibility for their grandchildren. Parents usually have parental responsibility for a child and are responsible for making the importance decisions about their lives to include who they spend time with.

Can Grandparents make an application to the Court to see their Grandchildren?

Grandparents can make an application to the Court for an order to spend time with their grandchildren, however there are certain steps that must be followed.

Step One – Mediation- Out of Court Resolution

The initial step applies to both parents and grandparents. All parties are required to attempt mediation, to see if matters can be agreed without intervention from the Court. Mediation is a voluntary process which involves opposing parties meeting with a trained family mediator in a bid to reach an agreement about the issues. Mediation is not always appropriate or successful and matters may need to progress to the next step.

Step Two – Permission Stage

If mediation is unsuccessful, the next step is to make an application to the Court. Unlike parents, who are automatically entitled to make an application, grandparents must seek the ‘leave’ (permission)of the Court to make an application.

What is leave and do I always need it?

Leave means permission to make an application. Essentially the Court grants you permission to make your application to spend time with your grandchildren. When considering this permission the Court looks at;

1. The nature of your application- is it genuine?
2. Your relationship with the child- do you have an existing relationship
3. Any risk allowing your application will disrupt the child’s life to an extent they would be harmed by it- is this application going to cause problems which will effect the child’s welfare?

Sometimes, permission is not needed. If a child has been living with a grandparent for a period of one year immediately before the application is made, permission is not required.

What happens if the Court gives me permission?

If the Court gives you permission, you will be able to proceed to the next stage, which is your application to spend time with your grandchildren. This is called applying for a Child Arrangements Order. You may have heard references to a ‘contact order’ or  ‘visitation rights’. These are outdated terms and the correct terminology is a Child Arrangements Order to spend time with your grandchildren.

Can I apply for my grandchildren to live with me?

There are various orders that you can apply for, once the issue of permission has been dealt with. These include;

• Child Arrangements Order- Live with and Spend Time with
• Special Guardianship Order
• Specific Issue Order
• Prohibited Steps Order
• Adoption

Can my son / daughter stop me seeing my children?

Ultimately, a child’s parents should make decisions that are in the child’s best interests. This is because they are the individuals with parental responsibility for them. Sometimes a child’s parents may make decisions which are not in their best interests and are with other motives in mind. If this is the case, the Court will need to have regard to these reasons when considering an application.

When making any decisions about a child, the Court will have the child’s welfare as their paramount consideration. The Court will also consider the welfare checklist which includes, but is not limited to;

• A child’s wishes and feelings
• A child’s physical, emotional and educational needs,
• A child’s age, sex, background any any other particular characteristics
• Any harm the child has suffered or is likely to suffer
• The ability of the child’s parents/or others to meet the child’s needs

I am a parent – can I stop my parents seeing their grandchildren?

As mentioned above, parents with parental responsibility are usually the individuals who make the decisions for a child. If you do not consider it is in your child’s best interests to spend time with their grandparents due to a safeguarding concern or a risk of physical, emotional, sexual  or psychological harm you are able to bring the contact to an end.

It is always important to keep your child’s interests at the forefront of your mind when making any decision.

Grandparents’ rights after making a Special Guardianship Order of Fostering

In certain circumstances, when the local authority have been involved with a family, grandparents may become foster carers or  Special Guardians of their grandchildren. This can sometimes mean that the grandparents obtain parental responsibility for their grandchildren which in certain circumstances  they can exercise to the exclusion of others with parental responsibility.

This is a very complex order and it is always important to get the correct legal advice before agreeing to become  a special guardian for a child.

The process of obtaining an order to spend time with your grandchildren can be very scary and confusing. If you need help with this, we are here to help.

Ceri Jones is a solicitor based in our family law department. She specialises in matters involving children, particularly regarding separation and child protection matters involving the local authority. Originally from Anglesey, Ceri is fluent in Welsh.

Contact Ceri  on 01978 291 000 or by email [email protected]