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743 - What About Grandparents' Rights?Grandparents are often silent victims of divorce. They crave a continuing relationship with their grandchildren, even if their child, the parent, doesn't spend much time with the children And this is mutual. That is, their grandchildren probably need a close and continuing relationship with the grandparents. The legislature has provided a remedy. Alabama Code Section 30‑3‑4.1 gives grandparents a way to come to court and ask for rights of visitation independent of any rights their child may have. The statute gives you the right to ask for visitation. It doesn't guarantee you'll get it. You can get a copy of the statute on Divorceinfo.com. Of course, the downside of petitioning the court for something like this is that it almost always ratchets up the tension, so if you lose, you can pretty much count on the other spouse setting up all kinds of barriers between you and your grandchildren. It hurts the grandchildren, but parents do it. What's the lesson here? I think it is that you need to think through all the possibilities and the risks before you file anything. Alabama Family Law Center serves clients who need to get through divorce and who are able to be reasonably cooperative. The goal is for both spouses to survive divorce and move on with their lives with some money in their pockets and their dignity intact. No representation is made that the quality of the legal services to be performed is greater than the quality of legal services performed by other lawyers. If you'd like to make an appointment with me, call 205-979-6960. Or you can click here to return to the Divorce Line. |
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