Grandparent Rights

The rights of grandparents to their grandchildren is a complicated area of family law, from visitation rights to custody decisions. Whether as a worried grandparent seeking out options or a parent whose child-rearing abilities are being questioned, you'll want legal counsel. It is crucial to have competent legal counsel that can inform you of your rights to your child or grandchildren and how to maintain them.

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Our attorneys at Beal Law Firm have ample experience with cases like this, as our firm deals exclusively with family law. The dynamic between parents and grandparents in these situations can be tense and awkward regardless of which side you stand. Let our attorneys help you navigate your case and better inform you of your rights.

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Grandparent Rights

 

In the Family Law arena, the discussion of Grandparents' Rights in Texas generally involves one or both of two types of cases. One such right is that the grandparents seek to be named as a conservator of the children and possibly have full or substantially full possession of the children. The other right involves the grandparents seeking access to the children if there is a denial or threats of denial.

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Grandparents' rights in Texas give them the ability to seek managing conservatorship of children in place of the parents are extremely limited. Not only are the odds of winning such a case highly dependent upon the facts of the case, but the right to even bring the action is also heavily regulated. In short, the design of the law is to keep grandparents that think they could do a better job than the parents of their grandchildren from judicially interfering in the lives of the parents and grandchildren in all but rare circumstances.

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Grandparent Access

 

Grandparent access to grandchildren is a much more common concept. One of the purposes of the law is to allow grandparents that have been cut off from access to their grandchildren by a mean-spirited, vindictive, or neglectful "surviving" spouse a vehicle through which the courts can protect the grandparent-grandchild relationship. The law is not limited to the case of a surviving spouse after the death of the grandparents' child. It applies to an incarcerated parent's case where they can plead even when neither of these circumstances is present.

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Understand, however, that courts commonly take the position that a non-incarcerated, living parent can adequately protect the access rights of their parents and that no action of the court is needed. In simple terms, courts often believe that if a grandparent is not getting to see their grandchild enough, they should take up the matter with the child of the grandparent.

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Understanding the concepts of Grandparents' Rights in Texas and the discovery needed to prosecute such an action adequately can be complicated. Seeking the help of a competent attorney with experience handling or as a grandparent's rights lawyer is essential.