What Rights Do Grandparents Have to See their Grandchildren?
Children love grandparents. They want to play with them and share their thoughts and feelings. So it is needless to say that grandparents can play an important role in the grandchildren’s lives.
But there is some unwanted situation when grandparents lose some rights to meet the grandchildren. So what are the grandparent’s rights in Canada to see their grandchildren? In this short discussion, we will try to figure it out.
What Rights do Grandparents Have to see Their Grandchildren?
The grandparents’ rights to see the grandchildren are the rights of grandparents’ visitation and custody.
The Laws
Most of the time, grandparents do not have visiting or custody rights over their grandchildren. Only the mother and father of the kid have custody and access rights under the Children’s Law Reform Act and the Divorce Act.
However, anyone who impacts the child’s best interests can petition the court for custody or access to the child.
The Rights
This means that grandparents can go to court and argue that having custody or access to their grandchildren is in the child’s best interests. Courts will consider all factors in evaluating a child’s best wellbeing, including the care, affection, and emotional ties between the children and the grandparents.
Normally, the court is hesitant to take a kid away from their parents or to overrule parental decisions about the child’s best interests. Grandparents will only be successful in obtaining custody or access to their grandchildren under exceptional circumstances.
In circumstances where both parents are deemed “unfit” to raise the child, grandparents may be granted custody. Now, the question is why the right of the grandpa is important? Let’s know more about it.
Grandparents Role
The grandparents are the guardians of many families. Besides that, they can play a very crucial role in many aspects of the family.
For Growth of the Children
For the proper growth of the children, babysitting, child care, regular taking care, taking them to school, movies, libraries, the grandparents can be very helpful in maintaining all there and keeping the children’s interest.
The grandparents can also be very helpful in guiding and helping them with extracurricular activities. They can be a better companion in the time of making any trip and enjoying the vacation.
Keeping the Bond
Grandparents can also be a very vital family part in the time of distant living with the children. The child can visit them during the vacation and spend a longer period.
On the other hand, grandparents can be the bridge of strong relationships among the family members. They can help the parents of the children to settle a different kind of dispute.
Moreover, the parents sometimes may need money to consider grandparents for any kind of financial help. Parents can take advice from their parents for the uncertain situation and guide the family during the tough time.
When Can Grandparent Contact Become a Problem?
Generally, there are three situations when the issue of the grandparent’s contact with the grandchildren arises. One of them is the unwillingness of the parents to contact the grandparents.
The other one is when parents live separately from each other and the parent with the power of decision making not wanting to keep contact with grandparents by the children.
Finally, when grandpa was the primary caregiver, concerns may arise, but now the children come back to the parents.
For Successful Grandparents’ Contract
The court may consider the following issue under the grandpa’s strong case considering the children’s best interest.
- Strength of the relation between children and grandparents
- The interest of the children
Other considerations in the best interests of the child test are spelled out in section 24 of The Children’s Law Reform Act.
Final Thought
Generally, grandparents have the right to see their grandchildren and take part in their grown-up process. But the problem arises when the parent’s divorce or the court needs to keep the children’s best interest. There can be a different kind of grandparents’ relationship margin applicable for the various unique relationship conditions of the family.