The bonds of a grandparent-grandchild relationship offer a child a bond often characterized by unqualified love and affection. Grandparents frequently play a fundamental role in a child’s development providing an additional source for emotional support and wisdom.  Different generations of familial role models often provide diverse perspectives helping children develop a broader worldview and make more informed decisions.  Sometimes children will be able to observe a unique work ethic, moral code, and traditional outlook on life from a grandparent. Other times, the availability of a grandparent provides a reliable and safe babysitter with whom a child has an especially close bond.  At Eric N. Klein & Associates, P.C., our experienced grandparent’s visitation lawyers represent both grandparents seeking visitation with their grandchildren and parent’s concerned about such visitation.

There are times when inter-family disputes make the issues of grandparent access (i.e. visitation) problematic either for the grandparent seeking access to his or her grandchild or the custodial parent.  Historically, grandparents were able to petition for the custody of a child in certain situations, such as:

• The death or desertion of a child; upon the dissolution marriage of the child’s parents;
• A child was born out of wedlock;
• Or if either or both parents prohibited a relationship between the grandparent and grandchild while the parents still live together regardless of the existence of a broken relationship between the parents.

-Chapter 752 of the Florida Code-Domestic Relations

The evolution of grandparent visitation law in Florida developed to limit grandparent access to their grandchildren particularly over the objections of the parent with whom the child resides.  Generally, grandparents will be able to petition for visitation upon dissolution (divorce), but Florida courts have been restrictive of this right viewing it as a violation of parental privacy rights until a 2005 change in Florida’s law regarding grandparent visitation.

In Beagle vs. Beagle, for example, the court found that imposing grandparent visitation over the objections of parents within an intact family was an invasion of privacy.  The court also observed that the state “may not intrude upon the parents’ fundamental right to raise their children except in cases where the child is threatened with harm.” A few years later, in Saul v. Brunetti, the court found that the father of a child born out-of-wedlock has the same rights to have his preferences regarding grandparent visitation observed by the court.  Subsequent decisions applied the same analysis regarding intrusion into a fit parent’s right to make decision regarding who should have access to one’s children in the case of deceased or divorced parents.

The problem with this line of cases is that it failed to acknowledge the growing role of grandparents in the lives of many children.  Florida child custody law is based on the principle that parenting agreements should be based on the “best interest of the child standard.”  Where a grandparent had been a fundamental part of a child’s life, it became hard to argue that the sudden complete exclusion of the grandparent from the child’s life because of divorce would promote the child’s emotional and psychological wellbeing.

In 2005, the Florida Code was changed to address these concerns by providing grandparents the right to petition for visitation upon dissolution (divorce) or desertion of the child’s parents, or if the child has been born out of wedlock.

As with all Florida child residential and visitation issues in Florida, the court will consider the best interest of the children.  The factors that the court will consider in applying the best interest standard in the context of a petition for grandparent visitation includes the following:

• Willingness of grandparents to encourage close relationships between the child and each parent
• Length and quality of the grandparent-grandchild relationship
• Preference of the child
• Mental and physical health of both the child and the grandparent
• Other factors necessary to determine the child’s best interest

It is difficult to determine the outcome of grandparent visitation requests, which can result in the severing of a grandparent-grandchild relationship.  When a grandparent-grandchild relationship is severed, the emotional toll can devastate a grandparent.  When a parent objects to grandparent visitation, especially if some access is available, albeit very limit access, it can be very difficult to convince a Florida court to impose expanded access to a grandparent over the preferences of the parent with whom the child resides.

In some situations, where there are fitness issues with a parent involving alcohol abuse, drug use or other conduct that demonstrates a clear inability or unwillingness of a parent to provide a safe suitable home environment, a grandparent may have an option to seek a guardianship on either a permanent or a temporary basis. More children are being raised by grandparents, and according to census findings, approximately 7.1 percent of children in the state of Florida live in grandparent-headed households.

If you are a grandparent who worries about the possibility that your relationship with a grandchild may be severed, you may be able to protect that relationship.  There are other situations were a parent has legitimate reasons to object to such visitation.  The experienced Florida grandparent visitation attorneys at Eric N. Klein & Associates will help you assess your rights and options and represent you with dedication and compassion.  We offer a free initial case evaluation so contact us today at 561-353-2800.