Northern Virginia Attorney for Relatives' Visitation Rights
When a separation or divorce occurs, more than the parents and children are effected. Often the grandparents and other relatives lose the opportunity to visit the children they love. If you want to address visitation rights for extended family members, contact Alexandria's Christian Curtis, LLC.
Christian Curtis, LLC | 703-879-7729 | E-mail
Although formally a marriage is between two individuals, in practical and emotional terms it can seem like marriage is between two extended families. In most of the world, in fact, marriages are still often arranged between families. And in times past, even in this country, more than just the parents raised a child; it was a family affair with grandparents, aunts and uncles all playing a part.
Today, family structures can be vastly different. Nuclear families may consist of married or unmarried parents, but it is primarily the parent or parents managing the child rearing. Yet, still, when nuclear families are broken apart, the extended family members also suffer.
Parents have the right to determine who visits their children.
Although Virginia law says parents should encourage the relationships between a child and extended family, the right of both natural parents, whether married or not, to determine who associates with their children is paramount. If mom and dad agree they do not want grandpa around junior, mom and dad will prevail, unless grandpa can prove the child will suffer serious harm if such visitation does not occur. And that is very difficult to prove.
If, however, the biological parents disagree on whether extended family can have contact with their children, the relatives can file for visitation rights without having to show harm to the kids — a much easier hurdle to clear. I have had cases where one of the natural parents is deceased and the grandparents on the deceased’s side desperately want to maintain contact with their grandchildren. If the surviving parent refuses such contact, there is nothing the grandparents can do. In our legal culture, natural parents are very strongly presumed to know what is best for their own children, even at great emotional cost resulting from loss of contact with grandparents, and the state, via its courts, will not interfere.
And beware: It is fairly common for a grandparent to become over-involved in the dispute between the biological parents, even to the extent of becoming the driving force behind the litigation. Judges are emphatically not pleased to see this. The courts expect parenting decisions to be made by parents.
Contact Christian Curtis, LLC for answers to visitation-related questions.
If you are in need of domestic relations lawyer for family law services for anything from divorce to child support to protective orders, contact Christian Curtis, LLC today for an honest assessment of your situation. Feel free to call the office at 703-879-7729 or send an e-mail to learn more about relatives’ visitation rights.
