{"id":792,"date":"2019-02-25T09:01:11","date_gmt":"2019-02-25T09:01:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dmckaylaw.com\/?p=792"},"modified":"2020-12-21T18:46:44","modified_gmt":"2020-12-21T18:46:44","slug":"do-grandparents-have-a-right-to-see-their-grandchildren","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dmckaylaw.com\/do-grandparents-have-a-right-to-see-their-grandchildren\/","title":{"rendered":"Do Grandparents Have a Right to See Their Grandchildren?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Grandparents will sometimes find themselves in a situation where one or more of their grandchild\u2019s parents are not permitting the grandparent to visit the grandchild. \u00a0Such a situation might arise from a death of a parent, a divorce, a termination of a parent\u2019s parental rights, a strained relationship, etc. Grandparents in these situations often wonder, what rights do I have to have a relationship with my<\/em> grandchild? <\/em><\/p>\n

In essence, the answer is that the State of Utah allows grandparents to file a petition with a court to ask to be granted visitation rights with their grandchildren. But grandparent visitation rights are neither guaranteed nor easy to obtain.<\/p>\n

Utah Code Ann. \u00a7 30-5-2<\/a> addresses grandparent visitation. \u00a0The law notes that a court will assume that parent(s) are in the best position to make decisions regarding their own children, and that a determination\u00a0to not allow grandparent visitation is in the (grand)child\u2019s best interest. This preference toward parents\u2019 decisions is a reflection of the United States Supreme Court\u2019s decision in Troxel v. Granville<\/em>, which ruled that parents have a fundamental right to rear their children.<\/p>\n

The parent\u2019s decision could be overturned by courts, but only in narrow circumstances. The Utah Supreme Court decided in Jones v. Jones <\/em>that it\u2019s proper for a Utah court to award grandparent visitation rights, against a parent\u2019s wishes, only if <\/em>the grandchild would experience substantial harm otherwise. This can occur when a grandparent has acted as the grandchild\u2019s custodian or caregiver, or otherwise has a substantial relationship with the grandchild, and the loss of the relationship would likely cause harm to the grandchild.<\/p>\n

If you are a grandparent who has never acted as a (grand)child\u2019s primary custodian or caregiver, you might ask, What does Utah law consider to be a \u201csubstantial\u201d grandparent-grandchild relationship? <\/em><\/p>\n

For Utah law to consider a grandparent-grandchild relationship \u201csubstantial,\u201d the relationship must be comparable<\/em> to a custodian or caregiver relationship, even if the grandparent is not actually the grandchild\u2019s primary caregiver. For example:<\/p>\n

In Jones<\/em>, the paternal grandparents provided some care to an approximately 16-month-old grandchild while the child and her father lived with the grandparents for six weeks. But both grandparents worked full-time and were not the child\u2019s sole caretakers, and during the six weeks the father lived with them, the child lived with the mother half the time. The Court determined that this short-term assistance was inadequate to establish a substantial<\/em> relationship.<\/p>\n

In contrast, in another Utah Supreme Court case, Uzelac v. Thurgood<\/em>, a child and mother lived with the maternal grandparents for three years. The grandparents provided substantial care for, and spent a considerable amount of time with, the grandchild during that time.\u00a0 Even after the child and mother moved into their own home, the grandmother continued to babysit several times a week, and spoke with the grandchild on the phone almost daily.\u00a0 A year later, the mother unexpectedly died, and the grandmother moved into the child\u2019s home, providing full-time care during the court proceedings.<\/p>\n

The grandmother petitioned for custody, but custody was granted to the father.\u00a0 After some time, the grandmother petitioned for visitation.\u00a0 The court found that the grandmother did <\/em>have a substantial relationship with the child, and awarded visitation rights.<\/p>\n

If a grandparent has evidence of a substantial relationship, and that harm would likely occur to the child if the relationship were lost, the Court could still consider a few other factors, such as:<\/p>\n