Nancy and her husband Bill have two beautiful male grandchildren. These loving grandparents spend as much time as possible playing with, as well as caring for, the two young boys. When the boys are six and four years old, Nancy and Bill get into an argument with their son and daughter-in-law over some financial matters concerning a family business. Their son and daughter-in-law elect to cut ties with Nancy and Bill, both financially and personally, and vow that the grandparents will not be allowed around their children again.
Nancy and Bill are distraught. Their visions of watching the grandkids grow up become suddenly shattered. They immediately wonder—do they have any right to see their grandchildren despite the parents’ disapproval?
In Kansas, the answer is: it depends. In 2000, the U.S. Supreme Court issued the monumental decision of Troxel v. Granville, which struck down Washington State’s existing grandparent visitation statute. It reasoned that fit parents must be provided the autonomy to decide who their children are around, absent extraordinary circumstances. Following this decision, numerous states’ grandparent visitation laws were challenged.
In fact, Kansas’ grandparents visitation law was challenged in Skov v. Wicker. Unlike in Troxel, however, the law was upheld. The court distinguished Kansas’ law from Washington’s in that it required a finding of the best interests of the child and a substantial relationship.
Following the wake of Troxel and Skov, a grandparent must first show that he or she had a substantial relationship with the grandchild in order to obtain court ordered visitation rights with grandchildren when a parent so refuses. There are several ways to establish the existence of a substantial relationship, including:
- That the child lived with the grandparent for a period of time;
- Provided child care for the grandchild frequently; or
- Visited regularly, including overnight visits.
Next, the grandparent seeking visitation must establish that it would be in the best interests of the child. It will not be enough to simply argue that all children should see their grandparents. Rather, the grandparent must provide specific examples of the way in which he or she enriches the life of the grandchild. On top of this, the court must always give deference to the parent’s decisions regarding visitation of the grandparent. It is presumed their decision is always in the best interest of the child, unless it can be proven otherwise.
Importantly, the remarriage of a parent after divorce or death of the other spouse will not prevent the grandparent from seeking visitation, even if the new spouse adopts the child.
Kansas is considered one of the more “grandparent friendly” states, as several other states require a showing that the parent is actually unfit in order to award visitation rights or require other onerous showings Even still, it is not easy to win grandparents visitation cases and will require thorough knowledge of the law as well as litigation skill.
In the case of Nancy and Bill, it is not clear whether they could succeed with their action. Though the couple had regular contact with the grandkids, their relationship did not extend to overnight care or regular weekly babysitting. Further, the parents stand united in their decision to cut ties, which the court may find persuasive. However, the parents’ decision seems to lie in financial motives which the court may not find compelling, and Nancy and Bill might be able to establish visitation would be in the grandchildren’s best interests.
At McDowell Chartered, our dedicated team of Kansas Family Law Attorneys provides compassionate, knowledgeable legal services to grandparents seeking to obtain visitation of their grandchildren. We understand how precious the bond between a grandchild and grandparent can be, and will fight on your behalf in court. Call us today at (316) 269-0746 to see how we can help you.
