Grandparents Rights
There seems to have been a large increase in the amount of cases of grandparents seeking contact with their grandchildren in recent years; in fact, I am dealing with 3 separate matters at the moment.
So- Can grandparents make an application to court to see their grandchildren?
The law states that a grandparent doesn’t have automatic rights to make an application in respect of children. However, if mediation has failed and you do decide to make an application, the court will give regard to:
The nature of the proposed application.
Your relationship with the child.
Any risk that the application will disrupt the child’s life to the extent that they would be harmed by it.
There are other matters that the court will consider, but in all three cases I am dealing with the grandparents have had an existing relationship with the child and were given permission to make the application.
The court will then proceed to consider the risk to the child. This often this involves CAFCASS carrying out a Section 7 report. CAFCASS will visit the parties involved and speak to the children (depending on their age). They will then make recommendations as to whether contact should take place or not.
2 of my 3 cases have had face to face contact declined; the relationship has been limited to letters and cards only.
If this is something you wish to explore then please do get in touch – 01952 466947 or 07970 848241.