Grandparents often have a special bond with their grandchildren, but sometimes family disagreements can lead to parents cutting off contact. If this happens, what legal options do grandparents have? In Missouri, grandparents can ask the court for visitation in certain situations.
When Can Grandparents Ask for Visitation?
Missouri law allows grandparents to request in specific cases, including:
- Divorced Parents – If the child’s parents are divorced grandparents may have the right to ask for visitation.
- A Parent Has Passed Away – When a child loses a parent, the grandparents on that side of the family may be able to request time with their grandchild.
- Grandparents Previously Took Care of the Child – If a grandparent has cared for the child for at least six months, they may have a stronger case for visitation.
- The Child Was Adopted by a Stepparent – In some cases, if a stepparent adopts the child, grandparents may still have visitation rights.
How Do Courts Decide?
Courts always focus on what’s best for the child. When deciding on grandparent visitation, a judge will look at:
- The relationship between the grandparent and grandchild.
- Whether seeing the grandparent would benefit or harm the child.
- The parent’s reasons for denying visitation.
- Any history of mistreatment or unsafe behavior by the grandparent.
Judges try to respect parents’ decisions, but if they believe a grandparent’s involvement is important for the child’s well-being, they may grant visitation.
Get Legal Help
If you’re a grandparent trying to maintain a relationship with your grandchild or a parent facing a legal challenge from a grandparent, it’s important to get professional advice.
The team at Kranitz, Sadoun & Carpenter, PC has experience handling family law matters in St. Joseph, Missouri, and can help you understand your rights and options. Contact us today to discuss your case.
๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ค๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ช๐ค๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ข ๐ญ๐ข๐ธ๐บ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ช๐ด ๐ข๐ฏ ๐ช๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ต๐ข๐ฏ๐ต ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ค๐ช๐ด๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ด๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ฃ๐ข๐ด๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ด๐ฐ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ญ๐บ ๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ข๐ฅ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ๐ต๐ช๐ด๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ด. ๐๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ด๐ต ๐ด๐ฉ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ๐ด ๐จ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ข๐ญ ๐ช๐ฏ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฎ๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ข๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต ๐๐ช๐ด๐ด๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ๐ช ๐ญ๐ข๐ธ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ช๐ด ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ญ๐ฆ๐จ๐ข๐ญ ๐ข๐ฅ๐ท๐ช๐ค๐ฆ. ๐๐ฐ๐ณ ๐จ๐ถ๐ช๐ฅ๐ข๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ด๐ช๐ต๐ถ๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ, ๐ด๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐ข ๐ฒ๐ถ๐ข๐ญ๐ช๐ง๐ช๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ข๐ต๐ต๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐บ.