Here at Higgins Miller, we empathise wholeheartedly with all family disputes, and want to assist you in the unfortunate event of conflict arising. Our priority will always be your peace of mind and helping you to find a safe, legal way through domestic issues in a calm, supportive, honest manner. When most people think of solicitors, they tend to picture divorces, financial settlements, and wills. In our experience, we tend to find grandparents often feel confused as to where to turn and seek advice from regarding grandparents legal rights.
This is because grandparents aren’t automatically granted the right to see their grandchildren. However, we understand the pivotal role grandparents play in children’s lives and will always assist you in times of need.
The law and grandparents
In current law, grandparents are not granted an automatic right to see their grandchildren. For a multitude of reasons, grandparents can be refused access to their grandchildren, which can feel impossible to overturn. The UK law is set out for England and Wales only, therefore it’s worth noting that Scotland and Northern Ireland guidelines will need to be referred to separately.
Options for grandparents
As distressing as limited or zero access to grandchildren is, there are options you can explore as a grandparent. As expert child law solicitors , we will always promote an informal arrangement, where a mutually agreeable outcome can be reached, with our support and intervention. This would involve mediation, which would be something with which we would assist. This will limit costs, both in terms of financial and emotional costs to all parties involved.
However, we understand the world isn’t perfect and a neat resolution isn’t always an outcome. If this is the case, you can apply for a court order. As grandparents don’t have parental responsibility of the child, before applying for a court order, it is strongly recommended that you seek permission from the court.
Once the permission has been granted, the court will require additional information, in which you will be asked to complete a specific form (c100 form) and send it to your local family court. If this is granted, you will then need to apply for a Child Arrangements Order.
We appreciate how such an escalation feels overwhelming, so once again, we will support each step of the way.
Understanding the changing terminology
We understand that the law can feel intimidating and the terminology feels like alien-jargon. To break it down, when the Children and Families Act came into force in 2014, the Act introduced lots of new terminology and the ‘child arrangements order’. It replaced the former court orders that the family law profession had previously called ‘residence’ and ‘contact’ orders, and before that, ‘access’ and ‘custody’. If this is something you are still unsure of, just ask us.
The role of the court
Once the mediation and paperwork are completed, the court will then decide whether or not you are granted access to your grandchildren, based on what they deem to be best for the children involved. They may grant direct or indirect contact with the child.
What does the court order decide?
- The location where the child continues to live
- Who the child spends time with and when / how often this occurs
- The types of communication that occurs, such as face-to-face contact or phone calls and texts, between the child and people outlined in the order
For further information on court orders, visit Citizens Advice Bureau.
If you find yourself needing support and advice on grandparents legal rights, please feel free to give us a call on 0161 429 7251 or if you’d prefer, you can email us at [email protected]. We treat all enquiries with the utmost confidentiality and offer impartial, honest advice.
At Higgins Miller Solicitors we are delighted to tell you that once you’ve made the first step in contacting us, your first 20-minute appraisal is provided free of charge. We’ll then inform you of the fee for your first appointment, should you wish to proceed. This way, you have complete upfront knowledge, so you don’t have to worry about how much our advice will cost when seeking advice on grandparents legal rights.