As a grandparent, you want what is best for your grandchildren — a safe home where they will be given the care and the love they need and deserve. When this isn’t happening, it can be heartbreaking to stand by and watch.
Our experienced and respected Michigan grandparents’ rights lawyers at Eisenberg & Spilman, PLLC, want to help you protect your grandparents’ rights and learn about the legal options you have to protect your grandchildren.
Based in Birmingham, our firm has been providing reliable legal assistance to grandparents throughout Michigan in matters involving guardianships, adoption and grandparenting time.
In Michigan, grandparents do not have unlimited rights to visitation/parenting time with their grandchildren. Under certain state laws, however, a grandparent is able to take legal action when his or her grandchild is:
In cases where a parent has passed away, is on active military duty or has been incarcerated, a grandparent may be able to establish parenting time with his or her grandchildren.
Whatever the reason you are pursuing your grandparents’ rights, our Oakland County grandparents’ rights attorneys are determined to help you find the best solution to your problem. We understand how much you value your relationship with your grandchild, and we are fully prepared to assist you with finding the most effective way to protect that bond you two share.
When determining whether to grant visitation rights to grandparents, Michigan courts carefully weigh some key factors to help ensure the child’s best interests are prioritized:
We possess a deep legal understanding of how these factors influence court decisions. Our legal team can leverage this knowledge to build a compelling case. For instance, we can help gather and present evidence that supports your position to help ensure that the court has a comprehensive view of your relationship with your grandchild.
Once grandparent visitation rights are legally established, you must enforce and manage these rights. First, grandparents should set up a clear visitation schedule, helping ensure all parties agree on specific dates and times. If the court has mandated supervised visitation, grandparents may need to arrange and cover the costs of a supervisor or designated drop-off location.
In cases where parents do not comply with the visitation order, it is important to document each instance of noncompliance and, if necessary, return to court for enforcement. Maintaining open communication with the parents can prevent misunderstandings and conflicts. However, mediation might be a helpful tool for resolution if issues arise.
Additionally, keeping detailed records of each visit, including any challenges encountered, can be invaluable if future modifications to the visitation order are required or if further legal action is necessary to uphold the rights.
Many grandparents want a relationship with their grandchildren but interpersonal difficulties with the parents cause complications. In other cases, grandparents are left raising their grandchildren when the parents are not up to the task. Understanding Michigan’s grandparents’ rights laws can help grandparents gain access to their grandchildren. Our attorneys at Eisenberg & Spilman, PLLC, can help answer any questions grandparents have about their right to visitation, custody or adoption of their grandchildren.
Under Michigan laws, grandparents may have visitation rights with their grandchildren if certain criteria are met. These include situations where the child’s parents are divorced or separated or their marriage is annulled, their child (who is the grandchild’s parent) has died, the grandchild’s parents were never married but paternity has been established, someone other than the biological parents have legal guardianship over the child or you had physical custody of the child within the last year.
In some cases, grandparents may be given custody or adoption of their grandchildren. This can happen if parents are unfit, and it would be in the best interest of a child to live with their grandparents.
Grandparents need to approach a court to gain formal rights to custody or visitation of their grandchildren. The courts will consider several factors in a case, including the grandparents’ relationship with their grandchildren. The process of gaining grandparents’ rights can be a difficult and strenuous experience, so legal representation is essential.
Visitation would allow a grandparent time they can spend with their grandchildren. Grandparents are often given visitation rights when doing so serves the best interests of the child. Our lawyers can help grandparents establish visitation rights for grandchildren.
If the grandchildren’s parents are in an intact marriage, they may deny the grandparents visitation rights. The court will only overrule a parent’s preferences in situations where the law gives grandparents a right to ask for visitation and when granting that visitation is in the grandchild’s best interests.
We invite you to contact our firm online or by phone at 248-358-8880 to schedule a confidential consultation to discuss your grandparents’ rights case. In addition to our regular business hours, evening and weekend appointments are available upon request. We accept Visa, MasterCard, American Express and Discover credit cards.