Custody battles can be quite tricky, especially if you are a grandparent. Unlike parents, grandparents do not start off with rights of visitation and automatic guardianship. If you are worried about your grandchildren, establishing a caring, supportive relationship with your child and their spouse will hopefully give you more access to your grandchildren so you can keep an eye on what is going on in the home without seeking custody. If you are convinced that gaining custody is what is needed, you will need to prove in court the absence of care the children are currently receiving and how you will provide emotional and physical support in a positive environment. Speaking with a trusted attorney who practices family law in Nevada will help you navigate how you can gain custody of your grandchildren.
Other options
Before pursuing custody, establishing yourself as a needed influence in your grandchildren’s lives is an excellent choice all around. Keeping an arrangement to see your grandchildren out of court will help prove you are willing to help and support your children and grandchildren amicably.
- You will have access to your grandchildren, keeping an eye on their wellbeing.
- You will show you are supportive of your parents.
- You will show you are a trusted loved one by the parents and grandchildren.
There is no doubt that grandparents can have a positive impact on children. But it is possible for parents to deny visits between their children and whomever they do not want in their children’s lives. This legally includes grandparents. If the parents of the child are still married, the court will likely not hear your request for visitation rights. Whether it is because of a disagreement, divorce, or if one parent passes away, in the state of Nevada, grandparents generally do not have a right to see the children. If you can prove that visitation rights should be granted to you because of a necessity for the wellbeing of the children, it is possible that you will be granted this right. Necessity can be determined, but not limited to, by:
- A previously established positive relationship with the child
- If the child has lived with you before
- Evidence of financial assistance given by the grandparent
- The child’s ability to express a desire to see the grandparents
If you have visitation rights to see your grandchildren, you have already established a positive influence in your grandchildren’s lives. If you continue to worry for your grandchildren’s safety in the home, you are in a good position to possibly gain custody, if that is in the best interest of the children.
Custody
If the children are in a proven bad situation either from neglect or abuse and are at risk of bodily, emotional, or mental harm, it is possible a grandparent could gain custody over the children. But for a grandparent to gain guardianship, that means the parent or parents can lose their rights to have a say in the children’s lives. The state of Nevada attempts to keep families together if possible unless proof is provided that the children must be removed from the home. Only when the children are removed from the home can a grandparent receive guardianship rights, also known as a kinship, or foster placement, of their grandchildren. If you are genuinely worried about your grandchildren and want to explore the option of gaining custody of them, give the trusted firm at Warnock Family Law a call today.