While not as common as cases involving parental rights, we do see quite a few grandparents' rights cases that involve visitation and (less commonly) custody. If you’re a grandparent, you might wonder when you have the right to claim legal visitation and custody—and you might not even know that you had these rights.
The relationship that exists between a child and their grandparents is important and should be encouraged. Unfortunately in child custody cases, maintaining regular contact despite differences between the parents can prove challenging. At Stearns-Montgomery & Proctor, our family law attorneys have been representing families in our area since 1988 who struggle with these types of situations. Our team uses creative strategies to ensure you remain a part of your grandchild’s life, while defending your rights under Georgia laws.
During a divorce or other types of family law proceedings, issues pertaining to child custody are among those most hotly contested. While the child’s parents tend to be at the forefront in these situations, grandparents may be all but forgotten.
Fortunately, the laws in our state support a grandparent's legal right to see and spend time with their grandchildren. Under the Georgia Code (O.C.G.A. 19-7-3), grandparents may file a petition seeking visitation in any custody action, including cases involving divorce, termination of parental rights, and adoption.
The same guidelines for determining parenting time are used in these proceedings:
Grandparent visitation issues may arise for a variety of reasons such as:
If you are a grandparent in one of these situations, what are your rights?
Grandparents do have some rights to visitation but recent changes in Georgia law makes receiving legal visitation rights even harder. First, to get visitation rights, your grandchildren’s parents must have a “severed relationship” (meaning separated or divorced). You will be unable to get legal visitation rights if the parents are still married. Second, the court ultimately cares about the “best interest of the child” and will look at your situation from your grandchildren’s point of view.
You’re more likely to get visitation rights if you have a strong bond or connection between you and your grandchildren and if it would be detrimental or damaging for the child if they didn’t regularly see you. In rare cases, it may even be harmful to the grandchildren if you don’t visit them.
Some examples include:
Grandparent custody is the same thing as third-party custody—a common form of custody in which someone other than the biological parents have custody of the child. Third-party custody usually occurs when the child is clearly in a harmful situation such as living in an environment of abuse or neglect. To obtain custody as a grandparent, you must show a clear reason such as:
After finding that the child would be harmed if the child was returned to the parents, the Court must determine that it is in the best interest of the child to be placed in the custody of grandparents.
Parents also need to understand these laws and situations before turning over a child to relatives such as grandparents, even for something like an overseas military assignment. Remember:
In Georgia, grandparents play a crucial role in the lives of many children, with statistics showing their involvement in 20% of child custody cases. Understanding the legal framework that supports grandparents rights in GA is essential for those seeking to maintain strong family bonds. This article explores how Georgia's laws…
