Grandparent Custody

Most grandparents play an important role in their grandchildren’s lives and upbringing. But what if they have been prevented from seeing a grandchild / grandchildren by the parents?

A question often asked by grandparents if they have been prevented from seeing their grandchild / grandchildren, is whether they have any custody rights.

Unfortunately, if a grandparent is prevented from seeing their grandchild or grandchildren, there are no automatic custody rights to contact with the children. However, if agreement cannot firstly be reached with the parents, there are options open to grandparents to obtain a relationship with their grandchildren.

Reasons grandparents can file for custody of a grandchild

Our specialist Family Children team can assist grandparents in all custody and access areas and help grandparents to:

• obtain contact with your grandchildren where it has been denied or restricted by the parents
• become a legal guardian of a grandchild
• become a special guardian of a grandchild
• adopt a grandchild.

A grandparent can make an application to the court to have a relationship with their grandchild. They would need to undergo a two-stage process and firstly ask the court for permission to make the application. The court will consider the following:

• the grandparents’ relationship with the grandchild
• the type of application
• whether contact with the grandparents would be detrimental to the grandchild in any way
• whether continuing contact with the grandparents would negatively impact the rest of the family, which in turn would negatively affect the grandchild.

If permission is granted by the court or agreed by the parents, an application can be made for a child arrangements order for a ‘spend time with’ (previously known as a contact or access order) in the same way that a parent with parental responsibility would be able to.

In some cases, the court may be asked to consider a ‘lives with order’ (previously known as a residence order or custody) for the grandchildren to live with their grandparent(s) if the grandparent feels that the parents are not looking after the children sufficiently. The court will consider what is best for the grandchild when making an order.

Can a grandparent have joint custody with a parent?

There are many practical steps grandparents can take to have a relationship with their grandchild.

A grandparent can, if agreed by the parents or ordered by the Court, obtain a shared care arrangement (joint custody) with their grandchild or have contact (access) with their grandchild. The parents would retain their parental responsibility. The making of a child arrangements ‘spends time with’ order (or contact or access) does not give a grandparent parental responsibility.

In some cases, a grandparent can have sole custody of their grandchildren, which can be made with a ‘lives with’ order, with a special guardianship order or care or adoption order.

Acting on behalf of grandparents

The law relating to grandparents can often be complicated and complex. At Stephens Scown we will guide grandparents through their case as efficiently and swiftly as possible.

We suggest that if you find yourself in this situation that you discuss it with us, so we can tailor our advice to your case.

How our Family Law team can help

We have a team of experienced, specialist children lawyers and can help at any stage, whether attempting to reach an agreement without using the court, or via court proceedings. We will help you to find the right solution in your case by offering specialised, empathetic, and professional advice which is tailored to you.

Our specialist team of children lawyers have extensive experience in Children Law and several of our team are accredited Resolution Specialists in matters which relate to children and are members of the Law Society’s Children Panel. Our team has been ranked consistently for many years as the best solicitors in the region for children and family law, in both The Legal 500 and Chambers.