Do Grandparents Have Visitation Rights in Florida?

Grandparents have a special bond with their grandchildren. Some grandparents consider their relationship with their grandchildren to be their most treasured. A grandparent may lose access to their grandchild, though, if their child loses custody of the grandchild, is incarcerated, passes away, or decides to prevent access to the grandchild for any other reason. If you are a grandparent in this situation, you may be wondering if you have any legal rights to visitation with your grandchild.

In the state of Florida, a parent generally has the right to restrict access to their child, even restricting access from grandparents. If your child divorced the other parent of your grandchild, and the other parent has full timesharing and parental responsibility, they can legally prevent you from seeing the grandchild. If your child passed away, the remaining parent can restrict your access to the child as well. If your own child wants to prevent you from seeing their child (your grandchild) for any reason, they are legally allowed to do so. This is because Florida supports the view that the parent knows what is best for their child.

There are only two exceptions to this law:

• Both parents must be deceased, missing for at least 90 days, or in a persistent vegetative state.
• One parent must be deceased, missing for at least 90 days, or in a persistent vegetative state and the other parent must be a convicted of a felony or other violent behavior that indicates they may be a danger to the child.

If you believe that your grandchild’s parent is dangerous or unfit, contact a family law attorney. Your attorney will petition the court to hold a hearing to determine if there is enough evidence for the court to rule that the parent is a danger to the grandchild. It’s important to be aware that if the court sides with the parent, you may be forced to pay their attorney’s fees on top of your own. If the court sides with you, the next step is to hold a mediation with the grandchild’s parent, you, and a neutral third-party mediator. The goal of the mediation is to try and work out a visitation plan for you and your grandchild without the court’s involvement. If you are able to negotiate a plan in mediation, that will become your visitation plan for the grandchild. If you are unable to work out the plan, the case will return to court and a judge will decide the visitation plan. The most important factor that the court will consider is what is in the best interest of the child.

If you believe that your grandchild’s parent is dangerous or unfit, contact Troy Legal. Our caring and knowledgeable attorneys will advise you on your legal rights to secure visitation of your grandchild.

Troy Legal, P.A. was founded in 2009 and serves clients throughout South Florida. Troy Legal, P.A., specializes in Marital and Family Law, providing reputable legal services for prenuptial and co-habitation agreements, paternity cases, adoption matters, alimony and child support, time sharing and parenting plans, drafting of qualified domestic relations orders (qdros), mediation services, equitable distributions, collaborative law, post-judgement modification and enforcement, domestic violence cases, and dissolution of marriage or divorce.  Troy Legal, P.A. is dedicated to serving clients through compassionate and aggressive representation, while upholding the highest degree of ethical standards.