One of life’s greatest joys is becoming a grandparent and having the ability to love and spoil their grandchildren. Sharing pictures and stories with other grandparents, relishing every minute spent with their children’s children is a source of happiness and satisfaction.

Of course, the grandchildren benefit from the attention as well. The love, knowledge and dedicated time spent with grandma and grandpa not only provide wonderful, priceless memories but also a strong sense of family, a sense of belonging, a bond.

When mom and dad break their portion of that bond, what happens to time spent with grandma and grandpa? Children are put through so much trauma during a divorce, to be separated from their grandparents could be devastating.

Grandparent visitation rights

If your son or daughter is involved in a nasty divorce and seek to punish each other by not letting you see the grandchildren, realize you do have rights. The courts look to see if you were an involved grandparent prior to the divorce. If so, it is not in the child’s best interest to remove you from their lives entirely. If you were not actively involved in the child’s life prior to the divorce, you will not likely get approved grandparent visitation rights.

If seeing your grandchildren after a divorce is a concern to you, contact experienced attorneys that will work to ensure the best interests of the children and their grandparents are represented.

Custody to a grandparent

If, as a grandparent, you seek to have full custody of a grandchild, you have to be able to prove that you have already been acting as the child’s sole provider and parent, because the biological parent is unable to care for the child emotionally, mentally or financially or is abusive toward the child.

When considering granting child custody to a grandparent, the court first looks at the child’s relationship with the parent they are currently residing with and then consider whether or not granting custody to a grandparent would be beneficial to the child. Even if one of the parents is deceased, the court will generally give custody of the child to the remaining parent. This is true even if the grandparents have a strong relationship with the child. It is extremely difficult to give custody to a grandparent against the parent or parents wishes.

Adoption can have a major effect on visitation rights of the grandparents. The laws vary from state to state, however, in many states, if the child is adopted by anyone, including another grandparent or a stepparent, the visitation rights for the grandparent are terminated. ?Check with your attorney to verify the laws in your state.

If all else fails and are unable to see your grandchildren, there may be cases where you may be able to sue for visitation rights. The team of experienced child custody attorneys Dallas, TX trusts can meet with you to discuss your particular circumstances and work to get the best possible outcome concerning your family.

Contact Scroggins Law Group for more insight into family law and grandparents? rights in child custody cases.