Visitation/ access Rights for Grandparents?

LegacyUser

Hi, does anyone know if paternal grandparents have any rights to access/ visitation where the father of the child has never seen her and wants nothing to do with her, he is not a guardian of the child as they were never married.thanks.

Nevyn

Grandparents do not have any automatic rights to access but they can apply for them via the family court but is not possible to come to an agreement with the mother of the child?

http://www.citizensinformation.ie/categories/birth-family-relationships/relationships_life_event

Grandparents

Grandparents also have certain rights in relation to their grandchild. Where grandparents are having difficulty in maintaining contact with their grandchild, under the Children Act 1997 they can apply for leave to apply for access to the child through the District Court.

http://www.treoir.ie/pdfs/Grandparents.pdf

Klingon Hamlet

USFI is a group set up to help any and all family members reunite under all sorts of difficult situations such as your one. Ray Kelly holds a meeting every Monday evening. They have a website also:

www.usfi.ie

It gets miniscule funding but Ray knows his stuff and I'd highly recommend contacting him.

Can I also recommend mediation above all else...it's a civil way of coming to an agreement. Both parties get a chance to meet and discuss the situation together while the mediator helps you towards an amicable and ultimately, worthwhile agreement in the best interests of the child.

PM me if I can be of any more help. I've been to court many times to get my rights put in place---as have my parents---regarding my gorgeous little boy. Hopefully it won't come to that but if it does, so be it, you're doing the right thing by wanting to see and love your grandchild.

Best of luck!:)

tara666

i wish there was some kind of law that would make grand parents want to see there grand children....

LegacyUser

Thanks for the replies, we were having trouble with out computer so only getting to reply now. we have applied through the district court so we have set the ball rolling but there is a long waiting list. we are unsure if we should get legal represtation because we've been told its a two day process. Also is it likely that we will get access, the mother is not a bad mother per se but for various reasons has decided it does not suit to have us in her childs life. Do we need to have 'other reasons' beside wanting to play a part in her life and loving her to make our case stronger.

Klingon Hamlet

You may be entitled to free legal aid. Also again I would highly recommend www.USFI.ie

zoom505

Arrangements for grandparents and grandchildren are now going to mediation more and more.

LegacyUser

Unregistered wrote: »

Thanks for the replies, we were having trouble with out computer so only getting to reply now. we have applied through the district court so we have set the ball rolling but there is a long waiting list. we are unsure if we should get legal represtation because we've been told its a two day process. Also is it likely that we will get access, the mother is not a bad mother per se but for various reasons has decided it does not suit to have us in her childs life. Do we need to have 'other reasons' beside wanting to play a part in her life and loving her to make our case stronger.

Hi,

can I ask what the cost is for the process and do you have any idea how long it will take? I have to do the same now as my grandsons mother will not even communicate with me in any shape or form and its breaking my heart not being able to get to know him or see him. I have only seen him once for 2 hours in 18mths and he is now 2 and a half...

Big warrior

We are a happily married couple but one of the 4 grandparents is looking for access to our kids.
The 3 other grandparents have access whenever they want to our children and we are now going to court over this.
Can someone please help? Its complicated!

LittleBook

Big warrior wrote: »

We are a happily married couple but one of the 4 grandparents is looking for access to our kids.
The 3 other grandparents have access whenever they want to our children and we are now going to court over this.
Can someone please help? Its complicated!

That's an interesting one. Anything I've read on access rights for grandparents has been couched in a framework of parents who were never married or whose marriage has broken down.

I would assume the grandparent in question here would have the right to apply for access through the courts, just as a grandparent in different circumstances would.

But since one of the factors in a courts decision as to whether access should be granted are:

- the connection with the child
- the risk of disturbing the child's life
- the wishes of the child's guardians

I suspect it would have to be pretty odd circumstances where access would be granted to this grandparent against your wishes!

You need to talk to a solicitor. Good luck!

P.S. You've tacked your question onto a four-year old thread, you'd probably get more feedback if you started your own thread but I expect most people will tell you to talk to a solicitor.

patricia 1

Hi, can anyone please advise me. My son had a child with his now ex-girlfriend. I kept in contact with the mother thoughout her pregnancy even though there was a question mark over who the father was. When the baby was a few days old we arranged a paternity test and it proved it was our grandchild. He is now 6 months old and we adore him and he comes to our house 3 days a week with a weekend stopover. The problem we now have is that we have heard they are leaving Ireland with her parents and they have no intention that we should find out...i really dont understand why they cant tell us and we have also found out that she never named our son as father on his birth cert...is there anything we can do i would really appreciate advise as this is breaking our hearts thank you

Moonbeam

He needs to go straight to a solicitor and also apply for guardianship rights.

patricia 1

thanks, i was told we would have no rights as he was not put on the birth cert.

Moonbeam

Having his name on the birth cert means nothing in Ireland though I would push to have it added.

Ms. Pingui

Is your son involved in his childs life at all?
If not, I don't think you, as grandparents should try to stop the girl starting afresh somewhere new with her parents.

hawkwind23

another question related to earlier query about both parents not wanting one grandparent involved with the children.

we are long divorced and remarried , all 3 of the grandparents we have no problem with but one we do on my side.
she is not blood related but i understand the new legislation will allow her to be defined as a grandparent and she may make an application to the courts, this is happening now.

we as parents do not want the children around her for an endless list of reasons , she has previously abused another family member.
she is diagnosed schizophrenic and a myriad of other mental health issues , she is also a chronic alcoholic.
sadly there are numerous other reasons.

their natural grandfather is ok and we are agreed we have no issues with him seeing the kids, however he is refusing this unless his wife is present. neither of us agree to this unsupervised and have made this clear on several occasions, he comes to see the kids anytime he wants but he comes without his wife.
he will do this and come alone but then he takes the kids to prearranged venues where the kids accidentally bump into her.
so we then refused access unless he came to their hometown alone.
he refuses this and now calls unannounced with his wife to family gatherings etc and causing upset to all involved , especially the children , who on this occasion ran away into the local woods until he stopped harassing the mother and her family.

now she has threatened to drag us all through the courts and its a bit stressful.
she claims a solictor says she has a good chance of winning and she will serve papers next week unless we let her see the kids under her terms.

what are peoples views on this?

the facts as i see them are.

both parents agreed we dont want to grant her access

the reasons for the refusal briefly mentioned above.

the children have stated to us both that they dont want to see her and find it stressful and uncomfortable when she is following them down the street or bumping into them.

all other close family members agreeing that she is toxic and damaging to anyone she is close to.

as it is a joint application we are unsure how this will work , we have no real founded reasoning to think the natural grandparent is damaging to the children and we are happy that he can maintain his relationship with his grandchildren.
he is making a joint application and refuses to have access unless his wife is there too.


do they have a case? would a court entertain this and have us all the indignity and stress of a court case?

any advice greatly appreciated.

gctest50

hawkwind23 wrote: »

she has previously abused another family member.

hawkwind23 wrote: »

she is diagnosed schizophrenic and a myriad of other mental health issues , she is also a chronic alcoholic.

hawkwind23 wrote: »

the children , who on this occasion ran away into the local woods until he stopped harassing the mother and her family.

hawkwind23 wrote: »

find it stressful and uncomfortable when she is following them down the street or bumping into them.

Go to the police and ask about some form of barring / restraining order before she does something that there will be no way from.

Eg: she might decide during a session of crazy that since she can't see them no-one else can - then kidnap and kill them

hawkwind23

Go to the police and ask about some form of barring / restraining order before she does something that there will be no way from.

Eg: she might decide during a session of crazy that since she can't see them no-one else can - then kidnap and kill them


lol yeah , we laughed about that today but it was one of those uncomfortable laughs!

ive went to the PSNI in northern ireland today and have made an appointment with the garda tomorrow.
PSNI have arranged to take a statement and advise me later in the week.
to add to the complication , the grandparents reside in the north and the children in the south

emo72

hope im not hijacking, similar unusual situation. both parents happily married with a child. one of the grandparents wants access, but there is a serious family rift and there has been no contact for years. it may go to court can a judge force the visitation rights against the wishes of both parents? if i was made to hand my children over to people i dont trust i would be bereft.

Ms. Pingui

emo72 wrote: »

hope im not hijacking, similar unusual situation. both parents happily married with a child. one of the grandparents wants access, but there is a serious family rift and there has been no contact for years. it may go to court can a judge force the visitation rights against the wishes of both parents? if i was made to hand my children over to people i dont trust i would be bereft.

I think if they have had no prior relationship with the child it won't be as easy for them to get access.

emo72

Ms. Pingui wrote: »

.

i would have thought that too, but legal advice received has suggested its up to the judge. judge would recommend mediation. if that doesnt work its then up to the judge. some of the children dont know the grandparent at all so they would not cope well with being courtbound to see a stranger. both parents are adamant that the children should not be forced.

emo72

judge seems to be forcing the happily married parents to force them to hand over their child to grandparent. is there a precedent for this?

hawkwind23

sorry havent been on this thread for a while.

firstly family law is there to protect the child.

the judge and associated legal teams will make a decision based on the new Grandparents Act 2013

http://www.oireachtas.ie/documents/bills28/bills/2013/1313/b1313d.pdf

in particular part 3 , a-d

if your are unhappy with the decision and feel the judge did not act in the best interests of the children then you have 10 days to lodge an appeal.

that will be heard in a higher court with a new judge

diveout

hawkwind23 wrote: »

sorry havent been on this thread for a while.

firstly family law is there to protect the child.

the judge and associated legal teams will make a decision based on the new Grandparents Act 2013

http://www.oireachtas.ie/documents/bills28/bills/2013/1313/b1313d.pdf

in particular part 3 , a-d

if your are unhappy with the decision and feel the judge did not act in the best interests of the children then you have 10 days to lodge an appeal.

that will be heard in a higher court with a new judge

Did that bill actually pass?

If you look at the language, it looks like anyone can be granted access to your child, not just grandparents.