Grandparent And Sibling Visitation Rights

 Posted on November 04, 2012 in Family Law

When people get divorced and go through custody and visitation battles, the parents and the child are not always the only people involved. Grandparents and siblings are also a part of the child's life, but sometimes custodial parents do not want the grandparents from the non-custodial parent's side of the family to see their grandchild.

In the UK, there was a story in The Telegraph about parents calling the police on grandparents for sending a card to keep in touch with their grandchildren. Fortunately, similar stories have not yet surfaced in local newspapers, even though divorce issues are often quite similar in developed countries around the world.

According to the story in The Telegraph, police are being called to investigate cases of grandparents approaching their grandchildren with postcards as harassment. The elderly have even been forced to hand DNA samples or fingerprints to the police.

When a custodial parent unreasonably denies visitation for a grandparent or a sibling, it is possible to petition for visitation rights. There are specific criteria for the petition, and one of the criteria must be met. For example, the parent that is related to the grandparent must be mentally incompetent, dead or incarcerated, the parent related to the grandparent must have lost parental rights by judicial act or the child has to be illegitimate and the parents not living together. There is more criteria for the petition, and an experienced divorce and family law attorney can help you with these matters.

Divorces are always emotional and stressful, but not all sides are always considered. Do not call the police on your child's grandparents for sending a postcard. Take care of such matters during the divorce process with help from qualified attorneys. To make the process less painful, contact a knowledgeable Illinois divorce attorney.