Riverside Grandparents’ Rights Lawyer

Riverside Grandparents’ Rights Attorney

The relationship between grandchildren and their grandparents is a cherished one. When parents divorce or separate, it can threaten the bond that grandparents have developed with their grandchildren. Working with a Riverside grandparents’ rights lawyer can help you understand what legal options are available to you.

Hire a Grandparents’ Rights Lawyer to Fight on Your Behalf

Since 2004, Edgar & Dow have been helping California families through their most difficult times in life. Our family law attorneys understand how destabilizing legal matters can be for individuals and their loved ones. We offer free consultations at any of our four California locations to discuss the full details of your situation.

Our firm values transparency in all that we do. We provide clients with honest legal advice so they can make informed decisions regarding their case.

Legal Rights Grandparents Have in California

In 2023, there were 73,337 minors living in Riverside. Around 38,263 residents were over 65. In a community with so many children and older adults, grandparents play a meaningful role in both raising and supporting their grandchildren.

However, despite being an active part of their lives as a grandparent, you may run into barriers when trying to see them after their parents’ divorce. Your grandchild’s other parent may try to limit your access to the child.

Luckily, California offers certain protections for grandparents in these situations. To ask a judge for visitation with your grandchild, you’ll either join an existing child custody case or start a new one. Your petition should include different forms, depending on the unique circumstances in your situation.

Some documents include an explanation of your relationship with your grandchild, proving that there’s a meaningful bond between the two of you. You can also include a proposed visitation schedule with your petition.

Be sure to make copies of your paperwork to hold onto and serve to your grandchild’s parents.

The Benefits of Mediation in a Grandparent Visitation Case

Before a judge makes their decision about your case, you’ll likely need to attend mediation sessions with your grandchild’s parents. These sessions are run by a neutral third-party, called a mediator, who helps both parties discuss their legal issues in a healthy manner. They don’t make any legal decisions for you.

It’s important to have your attorney present at these sessions. Even if you’re on good terms with your grandchild’s parents, it’s a necessary layer of protection. If you and the parents can come to an agreement, you’ll submit it to the judge for final approval. However, if you can’t agree, the case will proceed to a court hearing, where a judge will have the final say.

The court must find it in the child’s best interest for you to have visitation. If they determine this to be true, you’ll legally be granted visitation with your grandchild, regardless of the objecting parent’s opinion.

Unfortunately, if the court finds adverse evidence that shows visitation wouldn’t be good for the child, they’ll deny you access. For example, if there’s been a protective order placed against you, you will likely be unable to see your grandchild. If both divorced parents agree that they don’t want you to visit your grandchild, you most likely won’t be able to.

Options for Seeing Your Grandchildren if Their Parents Are Still Married

There aren’t many options for grandparents’ rights if the grandchild’s parents are still legally married and unwilling to have you in their lives. Only certain circumstances allow a grandparent to file a petition with the court to see their grandchild. This includes:

• If the parents live apart permanently
• If one parent has been missing for over one month
• If one parent wants you to have visitation with their child, but the other parent doesn’t
• If the child doesn’t live with either parent
• If a stepparent has legally adopted the child
• If one parent is in prison
• If one parent is institutionalized

If you successfully petition the court for access to your grandchild, but the above circumstances change, the child’s parents can ask the court to revoke your visitation rights.

FAQs About Riverside, CA Grandparents’ Rights Laws

How Do California Courts Decide What Is in the Child’s Best Interest?

California courts decide what is in the child’s best interests by looking at their unique circumstances. They’ll factor in the bond between you and your grandchild, as well as the child’s desire to see you versus their parents’ legal rights. It’s important to hire a grandparents’ rights lawyer to help represent you during this time, as they’ll be able to make the strongest case in favor of your rights.

What Evidence Is Needed to Prove That I Deserve Visitation With My Grandchild?

Having extensive evidence is needed to prove to the courts that you deserve visitation with your grandchild. If you only offer your opinion to the court or have only one specific type of proof, it’ll make your case hard to support. Your lawyer can help you gather and preserve evidence. This can include witness statements from trusted adults in the child’s life, written communication with the child and their parents, and other official documents that lean in your favor.

Where Do I File My Grandparent Visitation Petition?

Where you file your grandparent visitation petition depends on the type of case. If you’re joining an existing custody case, you’ll file your petition with the same court as the existing case. If you’re filing a new case altogether, you’ll file it in the county where your grandchild lives. For Riverside County residents, this is done at the Riverside Family Law Courthouse at 4175 Main Street.

How Do I Prepare for My Grandparents’ Visitation Case Hearing?

To prepare for your grandparents’ visitation case hearing, be sure to organize all of your paperwork before you go to court. You’ll likely be the first to speak during the hearing, as those who file typically go first. Include detailed notes about what you plan to say to the judge. Your lawyer can help you write this out. Include the evidence gathered for your case and copies of anything your grandchild’s parents filed on their end.

Experienced Grandparents’ Rights Attorneys in Riverside, California

Reach out to Edgar & Dow today to schedule your confidential meeting with one of our skilled grandparents’ rights lawyers in Riverside, CA. We offer new clients a free consultation to discuss the details of their legal case.