Grandparents can have rights to have Court ordered visitation or custody depending on facts and circumstances. Although a Court Order for grandparent visitation can be viewed as an interference with a parent's right to raise a child, under certain circumstances, Courts can consider a grandparents being awarded custody, visitation or guardianship of grandchildren when parents may be unable or are unfit to care for a child.
As Madison County, Illinois Grandparents' Rights Lawyers, the Grandparents Visitation Act allows for visitation by grandparents with grandchildren without necessarily the presence of the custodial parent, so long as a Court-approved visitation plan may be implemented. As Collinsville, Edwardsville, Granite City, Illinois Grandparents' Rights Attorneys, the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act allows grandparents, and even great-grandparents of a minor child, to petition the Court for visitation. For example, a grandparent can ask the Court to order visitation if the parents have been unreasonable or have denied visitation by a parent and (1) the child's other parent is dead or has been missing for at least three months, (2) a parent is mentally incompetent or, (3) a parent has been in jail during the three month period preceding the filing of the petition. Blake Law Group, P.C. can help grandparents assert their rights to visitation. Under Illinois law, depending on the situation, grandparents have the ability to petition the Court to allow them to see their grandchildren if the custodial parent unreasonably denies them visitation. As Edwardsville, Illinois Grandparents' Visitation Rights Lawyers, we believe that one of the most important considerations for children is contact, not only with their parents, but also with their grandparents and other family members. Depending on circumstances, if a parent with legal custody attempts to distance the child from the grandparent, it may be possible to petition for a Court Order to ensure that the grandparent will have scheduled visitation.
