Many people have the potential to play a vital role during the key developmental years of a child. In the busy world of today, many parents opt to involve grandparents closely in the child’s upbringing. Not only can grandparents provide a nurturing environment for the child, especially when the parents need a helping hand, but they can also provide many valuable life lessons. However, sometimes parents will decide that they do not want their child to maintain any relationship with their grandparents. This is a difficult place to be in, especially when you have tried your very best to build a bond with your grandchild.
Fortunately, Indiana has laws to protect the rights of grandparents. This law, like any other law regarding children, is based on the best interests of the child. So, before a court can grant visitation to grandparents, it must decide if it would be beneficial for the child.
According to Indiana Family Law, grandparents can only get visitation through court if the child’s parents have passed away, the child’s parents are no longer married or if the child was born out of wedlock. If the parents of the child did not file for divorce within Indiana, this condition may not be applicable to you. Additionally, even if the child was born without the parents being married to each other, the paternal grandparents can only be allowed visitation if they can prove paternity.
In order to spend time with your grandchild, a petition seeking reasonable visitation time must be filed with the court. To make the best of an unfortunate event, you should consider hiring a lawyer to handle the case with the sensitivity and expertise it requires.
