Grandparents Rights
Families can sometimes change course, and when something major such as a divorce or the death of parent, a grandparent’s relationship with their grandchildren can be affected. When the residential custodial parent or surviving parent tries to limit the amount of time the kids spend with their grandparents, it may be necessary to hire an attorney to file a petition with the Court to get grandparents rights access to visit your grandchildren again. The family law attorneys of Juris Law & Mediation have successfully helped grandparents in Kansas secure visitation with their grandchildren over the objections of their parents or guardians.
Under Kansas law, grandparents have the legal right to ask the Court to order visitation with their grandchildren. If grandparents can successfully prove that they have or had a substantial grandparent-grandchild relationship and that visitation is in the best interest of the children, then a court may allow visits.
The grandparent asking for visitation has the burden of proving to the judge that a this relationship exists and that visitation is in the child’s best interests considering their health, safety, and general welfare.
Grandparents do not need to be related to a grandchild by bloodline to ask for grandparents rights visitation, but must be a legal parent of one of the child’s parents.
There is also a significant financial aspect to asking the court for grandparent rights visitation because the grandparent(s) will be held responsible for their own attorneys’ fees, the attorneys’ fees of the parents, the cost of a Guardian ad litem if the Court orders one to represent the interest of the children, and all the costs associated with the proceeding - unless the judge decides it would be unfair based on the parents’ behavior. Typically speaking, these attorney’s fees are almost always ordered to be paid by the grandparents, so these cases can be costly both financially and emotionally.
Schedule a consultation today to discuss your case and let Juris Law & Mediation attorneys help you decide if you have a case, and estimate what the cost might be.
Representing clients in Olathe, Overland Park, Lenexa, Gardner, Spring Hill, Johnson County, KS and entire Kansas City area practicing in both Kansas and Missouri.
