Do Grandparents Have Custody and Visitation Rights? Contact a Massachusetts Family Law Attorney
If you are concerned about how to protect and nurture your valued relationship with your grandchildren in spite of circumstances such as a divorce, Dane Shulman Associates, LLC, in the Boston area, welcomes your inquiry. We will be glad to talk over the challenges that you face in getting access to your grandchildren, protecting them from a troubled home environment, becoming their legal guardian or accomplishing other goals.
A case heard by the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts both clarified and limited grandparent's rights. The Court in the case Blixt v. Blixt held that a parent's decision regarding grandparent visitation must be given "presumptive validity." The Court further stated that in order to obtain visitation, "the grandparents must allege and prove that the failure to grant visitation will cause the child significant harm by adversely affecting the child's health, safety, or welfare."
In the vast majority of cases, it will not be necessary to take your case to the Supreme Court to determine if you have the right to have access to your grandchildren. Your rights as grandparents may be achievable through less adversarial means, such as by working through your son or daughter who is the parent of your grandchildren. Your family may in fact need for you to assume a more formalized role with your grandchildren by serving as legal guardian for them as well as adoption.
Discuss your grandparenting relationships, your goals and your grandchildren's needs with an experienced, caring and pragmatic family law attorney at the law offices of Dane Shulman Associates, LLC. Contact us to schedule a consultation with a Massachusetts custody lawyer regarding grandparents' rights in your family.
