When two parents divorce, the couple and their children are not the only ones affected. A divorce also affects their families. Relatives, such as aunts, uncles and grandparents, may find themselves suddenly cut off from a divorcing couple’s children, even if they were heavily involved in raising them. One parent may insist that the children not see certain family members for any number of reasons. Additionally, if grandparents finds themselves “cut off” from their grandchildren, this can be extremely upsetting to not only the grandparents, but the children as well.
Grandparent Visitation Rights in Illinois
In limited circumstances, grandparents can petition the court for visitation with children. However, the ability to obtain visitation is usually subordinated to the rights of the parents to determine who may and may not see their children. For instance, suppose that, following a divorce, Maria’s former in-laws—her children’s paternal grandparents—want to see the children on a regular basis. The law recognizes Maria’s right to withhold visitation with the children from her former in-laws, even if Maria’s ex-husband wants the visitation to occur, unless doing so is detrimental to the child.
In order to obtain grandparent visitation, grandparents must show a court:
- A parent has unreasonably denied visitation to the grandparents. A denial of visitation rights is “unreasonable” if the denial harms the child’s mental, physical, or emotional health. This is a difficult standard to meet. Just because grandparents are used to frequent contact with grandchildren does not mean that denial of future visitation would be harmful.
- One of the following situations exists:
- The other parent has been declared mentally incompetent, is deceased, has been missing for three months or more, or has been sentenced to prison or incarceration at least three months prior to the petition for visitation;
- A child’s parents have been either divorced or legally separated for the past three months, or there is a pending dissolution or custody proceeding, and at least one parent consents to the visitation;
- The grandparents’ child (so one of the parents) has had his or her parental rights terminated, so long as those rights were not terminated by adoption and so long as the visitation will not be used to allow the parent whose rights were terminated an opportunity to visit with the child; or
- The child was born out of wedlock, the parents are not living together, and a court has established the father’s paternity of the child (pending the grandparents are the paternal grandparents).
Contact Us for Assistance
Obtaining grandparent visitation rights may be difficult and it is not something one can easily accomplish without a knowledgeable attorney. If you reside in Cook, DuPage, Will, Kane, or Kendall Counties, it is imperative that you seek experienced counsel from the experienced family law attorneys at STG Divorce Law.
