The divorce of your grandchild’s parents should stay between them, and should not involve you or your grandchild. So the last thing you may want is for your relationship with your grandchild to be severed simply because of this divorce event. But if you notice that your visits with your grandchild are becoming fewer and farther between, and they are all the more difficult to schedule, then you may have to turn to the New York family court to enforce a regimented schedule on your behalf. Continue reading to learn how you can gain grandparent visitation rights and how an experienced New York City child visitation attorney at Zimmet Law Group, P.C. can help build up your petition.
As a grandparent, how can I gain visitation rights?
As a grandparent, you are one of the few family members who hold a right to petition for the visitation rights of your grandchild in New York State. For, this you must file a formal written complaint with the county court in which your grandchild resides or their parents’ divorce proceedings are taking place. In this formal written request, you must present a proposed visitation schedule for your grandchild. This is in addition to explaining why your visitation rights are imperative to your grandchild’s physical, mental, and emotional well-being.
What’s more, you may go as far as petitioning for custody if you can prove that your grandchild’s parents have a history of child abuse, child abandonment, or failing to uphold their custodial responsibilities. But regardless of whether you are requesting visitation or custodial rights, you must be prepared for your grandchild’s parents to request its revocation at any time.
What contributing factors might the New York family court consider?
It is worth mentioning that you must have solid grounds for submitting this petition. In other words, you cannot bring this issue to the New York family court simply because you want to see your grandchild two times a week instead of one, as an example.
Rather, you must have enough proof that shows that their parents’ prevention of visits is only hurting them. This is because the court will ultimately make a decision based on what is in the best interest of your grandchild. Without further ado, the court may consider the following contributing factors that you may have laid out in your petition:
- Whether you and your grandchild have a substantial, positive pre-existing relationship.
- The type of relationship that you have with both of your grandchild’s parents.
- The distance between your residence and that of your grandchild’s parents.
- The health of you, your grandchild, and your grandchild’s parents.
- The wishes of your grandchild, if they are of sufficient age.
You must not question your instinct to retain the services of one of the skilled New York City family law attorneys. Our team at Zimmet Law Group, P.C. will work to determine which legal option best suits you.
