Grandparents’ Rights

In certain circumstances after custody has been established, a non-custodial parent is either denied visitation or given restricted visitation, or if they choose to not visit the children. Until political leaders and legislators launched an effort to expand grandparents’ rights, the parent(s) of the non-custodial parent could be restricted from visiting or seeing their grandchildren. Before the movement to expand grandparents’ rights, the obligation to provide visitation for grandparents was deemed a moral argument as opposed to a legal one. This resulted in the reality that grandparents could sometimes more easily obtain custody than they could visitation rights. Today, third party visitation statutes have been adopted, providing grandparents with the ability to seek court-ordered visitation.

Other Third-Parties

What are your rights as a non-grandparent third party? Throughout history, the rights of third parties, excluding grandparents, have been much more limited. Some states have recognized the rights of siblings and argued on behalf of the best interest of the child, but most do not recognize the rights of many other third parties.

What could this mean for you? While there is no set formula used to determine these rights, our firm recognizes the complexity of third-party visitation questions and can provide the expertise needed to reach the visitation goal in the best interest of the child.

Establishing Third-Party Visitation

Conlon Amendola, PLLC is dedicated to serving the interests of our clients in legal matters pertaining to matrimonial and family law, including their specific practice areas. If you need an experienced and understanding attorney to advocate for your third-party visitation rights contact our office today at (203) 803-2943.