My child will not allow me to see my grandkids, do I have rights?
Grandparents do not have a constitutional right to see their grandchildren. According to Troxel v. Granville, a US Supreme Court case, the due process clause protects the fundamental rights of parents to make decisions regarding care, custody and control of their children. Therefore, as a grandparent your possession and access is limited to what the parent will allow. Getting visitation as a grandparent when your child does not want you to is almost impossible.
Grandparents seeking managing conservatorship must show the grandchild has lived with them for six months and within ninety days of filing suit; the Court has named the grandparent as the guardian OR the child is being harmed by people caring for child or by the current living situation; OR both parents, surviving parent, or court appointed managing conservator agrees that the child should live with grandparents. However, if someone else files a lawsuit for custody, the child’s grandparents can intervene with a showing of a lot of past contact with child and the child being harmed by current living conditions
Can a Grandparent Petition for Access or Possession?
In Texas, grandparents have a cause of action to obtain access to grandchildren only if at least one biological or adoptive parent’s rights have not been terminated and the parent who is the child of the grandparent is dead, incapacitated, jailed for at least three months, or does not have court-ordered possession of or access to the child.
If you have any questions regarding the rights of a grandparent in Spring, TX, North Houston, Woodlands, Klein, Tomball, Cypress, FM 1960, Galveston, and surrounding areas, call the A.T. Law Firm for a free consultation. We also travel to different counties including but not limited to Harris County, Montgomery County, Liberty County, Chambers County, Galveston County, Ford Bend County, Waller County, and Brazoria County. Contact the A.T. Law Office to set up a free consultation.
