Grandparents’ Claims

Grandparents’ Claims

We all know that grandparents nurture, provide care for, and help raise their grandchildren; but, unfortunately, the laws of many states leave grandparents with few, if any, rights to take care of or visit their grandchildren.  Fortunately, Ohio is one of the few states that has passed laws that say grandparents should have a right to visit with their grandchildren, so long as such visitation is in the best interest of the child and the grandparents have an interest in the welfare of the child.

Due to recent changes in Ohio law, grandparents have not only been granted new rights, but have actually seen their rights broaden.  In Ohio, grandparents can now be granted visitation as part of a divorce, dissolution, legal separation, annulment, or child support proceeding.

The state legislature has created statutory guidelines for determining whether a court should award grandparent visitation rights.  Before a court can award or deny grandparent visitation rights, though, the court must routinely consider factors such as:

• the child’s age;
• any wishes of the child as expressed to the court;
• the geographical location of the grandparent’s residence and its distance from the child’s residence;
• the child’s health and safety;
• the willingness of the grandparent to reschedule missed visitation;
• the mental and physical health of all the parties;
• the availability of time for the child to be with his or her siblings;
• the child’s adjustment at home, school and in the community;
• the child’s and parent’s available time, including schedules for employment, school, holidays and vacations;
• the wishes and concerns of the parents as expressed to the court;
• the past involvement and bond between the child and grandparent;
• any conviction of the grandparent or guilty plea by the grandparent involving a crime of child abuse or child neglect; and
• any other factor in the best interest of the child.

Ohio is one of only a very few states nationally that has recognized through statutory law that grandparents should have a right to visit with their grandchild, so long as such visitation is in the best interest of the child and the grandparents have been involved with the child.  An Ohio grandparent should not become confused by a 2000 ruling issued by the United States Supreme Court, Troxel v. Granville, 530 U.S. 57 (2000), that struck down as unconstitutional a Washington State statute regarding grandparents visitation rights.  The Supreme Court of Ohio in a 2005 decision in Harrold v. Collier, 107 Ohio St.3d 44 (2005), has determined that the federal Troxel decision does not apply in Ohio and held that Ohio’s third-party visitation statutes are constitutional.

Ohio’s laws have evolved so much in favor of grandparent rights that so long as it is in the “best interest” of the child, courts can grant grandparent visitation rights in three circumstances:

• When married parents terminate their marriage or separate;
• When a parent of a child is deceased; and
• When the child is born to an unmarried woman.

In an action by the State claiming that a child is dependent, abused or neglected, even the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS) has adopted a rule that requires a public children services agency to make arrangements for grandparent visitation to occur.

In 2007, recognizing the need for the public to have around-the-clock access to accurate Ohio divorce and family law information, we started publishing the Ohio Family Law Blog.  You can see our passion for this area of law by reading some of our diverse posts as well as those of expert guest contributors.  We have written about everything from what to wear to court to technology and virtual visitation ideas.

As you can see, Ohio grandparents have more rights regarding access to their grandchildren than ever before.  Please don’t hesitate to call us at (937) 293-2141 or email us by using our form below if you are a grandparent and have ongoing visitation issues.  Additionally, we have an emergency phone number, (937) 760-4357, that is answered by one of our family law attorneys around-the-clock.