LEGAL EAGLE: What rights do grandparents have when son or daughter divorces?

Divorce can have devastating effect on grandparents.

Unfortunately, our son and his wife divorced last year, and the children now live with their mother.

This had led to us losing all contact with them and we have not seen our grandchildren for over 18 months.

Our son sees them regularly however, for reasons best known to herself, their mother refuses point-blank to let us see the children. Do we have any rights in this situation, as we are desperate to see them again?

I am very sorry to hear about your situation; it must be heart-breaking not to have seen your grandchildren for so long.

You could firstly try to get help in seeing your grandchild through an informal, family-based arrangement with both parents and, if this is unsuccessful, through formal mediation. The final option is to apply for a court order.

Mediation involves an independent family mediator, who can help you and other family members come to an agreement with a Mediation Information and Assessment Meeting; (MIAM).

If you still wish to apply for a court order after you have been through mediation, your solicitor will help you to make the application. The court will need to see that you have gone through the independent mediation process first.

The court will then decide on whether you can spend time with the child and if so, what sort of contact would be appropriate and in the child’s best interest. For example, an order might state that you can only have contact by telephone or letters (indirect contact).

The court can make an order saying: - who a child spends time with and when

- what types of communication, such as face-to-face contact or phone calls, should take place between the child and someone named in the order.

Very sadly this is not an uncommon scenario, and it may help others to know what legal avenues are available to help re-establishing contact with their grandchildren.

To speak to an experienced family law solicitor please contact Ben Hoare Bell LLP on 0191 565 3112 or email [email protected]. For further information please visit www.benhoarebell.co.uk.