Grandparent Rights

My daughter says she will not let me visit with my granddaughter. Can she do this?

Laws regarding grandparent visitation varies with each state. Some states may allow you to go to court and petition for visitation rights. Your right to visitation is usually determined on different circumstances. Your child may have died or divorced, leaving you with limited access to your grandchildren.

Courts will consider whether someone else has adopted the grandchild when determining your right to visitation. For example, adoption terminates the legal relationship between the child and his blood parent. Courts have generally held that this parental termination carries over to your rights as a biological grandparent. This means that if another family adopts your grandchild, you may have no legal relationship with the grandchild-and thus no legal right to visitation. But courts have not been this strict when a stepparent or another relative adopts the child.

TIP: For more information on your rights as a grandparent, contact:

The Grandparent Information Center
c/o AARP
601 E Street N.W.
Washington D.C., 20049