Grandparents' Rights ◦ Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Palm Beach, Florida, Family Law Attorney
Grandparent Interference
Florida law does not recognize a grandparent's right to access to a grandchild as a general proposition. Under certain circumstances, however, a grandparent can try to prove that he or she has established an important relationship with a child, that recognizing and continuing that relationship is in the child's best interests, and that a particular schedule of visitation is fair to all concerned. However, a grandparent's interference in parent-child relationships can sometimes have a destructive effect.
If you are in a situation where a grandparent is interfering with your own parental rights and responsibilities, you have rights to prevent their interference. No matter how well intended they may be, the attempts of grandparents to establish what in effect are parental rights can be intrusive and can sometimes undermine parent-child relationships.
Grandparents' Rights
Florida law provides that relatives and grandparents' rights to visitation or child custody are conditioned upon certain circumstances. These usually include unusual circumstances such as problems at the child's primary residence or the inability of the parent to provide proper care. In these situations, a Chapter 751 proceeding can provide an order for temporary custody of the child. The judges of family court are usually quick to recognize that a grandparent's home is often the best placement option for children in trouble at home. Temporary custody can be the ideal alternative to formal juvenile dependency proceedings, foster care placement, or termination of parental rights.
Guardianship on either a temporary or permanent basis may be another option. However, a petition to appoint a grandparent or other relative as a guardian of a dependent child are heard in probate court, not family court, whose judges tend to have less experience with the realities of family problems and the best interests of children.
If you are a parent or grandparent and need the counsel of an experienced lawyer, contact Senior Partners David Filler or Catherine Rodriguez at 305.672.5007 to consult with an experienced lawyer who can provide immediate attention to your legal needs.
