In most divorce cases, parental custody rights are given to the mother and the father. They may share custody or parenting time, or one of them may have visitation rights. Supervised visitation is sometimes used when a parent doesn’t have full custody but still wants to be involved with the child.
But what about grandparents? Is it possible for grandparents in Ohio to get visitation rights themselves? Or does the court only handle things from the parents’ perspective?
Visitation rights are possible
Under Ohio law, it is possible for a court to give visitation or companionship rights to grandparents. For one thing, this can clearly be done if the parents have passed away and the grandparents are stepping in to raise the child. But it can also be done when the parents have custody and the grandparents just want to make sure that they are still involved.
There are two main things that the court considers. The first is “if the grandparent has an interest in the child’s welfare.” Maybe the two already had a close relationship before the divorce, so it would be detrimental to break that off.
The second thing the court looks at is whether or not it is in the child’s best interests. If the court believes that would be beneficial for the child to spend more time with the grandparents, it can issue a custody order, establishing a visitation schedule so that that relationship is maintained.
However, these visitation rights for grandparents are not a guarantee and are not issued in every case, so grandparents need to know exactly what legal steps to take and what options they have.