Grandparent's Rights

Although a divorce is technically the legal separation of two spouses and the dissolution of their marriage, in reality the families of both spouses can be impacted by a divorce. Grandparents in particular may find that a divorce can mean the end of any ability to see their grandchildren. While some states have, in the past, given grandparents some ability to ask the court for visitation rights, Florida has traditionally been hesitant to grant a grandparent visitation rights, especially when one or both parents do not want a grandparent to see their child. Where the parents and grandparents agree as to the frequency and type of visitation between the child and the grandparents, courts will generally not interfere with such an agreement. But where grandparents want visitation rights and one parent does not want to allow visitation, Florida courts will need to decide what, if any, visitation rights to award the grandparents.

Unfortunately, grandparent rights in Florida still remain hard to obtain. Even with the most recent statutory update, very specific criteria must be met in order for a grandparent to obtain rights to see his or her grandchild.

Effective July 1, 2015, Grandparent’s Rights in the State of Florida have changed. Before, a grandparent could petition for visitation rights if the parent’s marriage had been dissolved, a parent had deserted the child, or the child was born out of wedlock and the parents never married. Still, it was very tough to obtain grandparent rights.