Grandparent Rights

Grandparent Rights Attorney in Lehi, Utah

HOYER LAW FIRM
51 E. Main St.
Lehi, UT 84043
(801) 901-0797
Visit our website

Some say grandparents have the best life. They provide care and love for their grandchildren without the additional responsibility of their daily care. Grandparents also receive the same love and care from both their children and grandchildren.

For this reason, grandparents look forward to days where their children and grandchildren visit them. These visits make them feel loved and cared for despite their old age, and it also helps ward off feelings of empty nest syndrome.

When parents separate or divorce, parents (being the primary caregivers for their children) can stop their children from visiting their grandparents. This decision can lead to feelings of loneliness and isolation not only for the grandparents but also the children who yearn for their grandparents’ love and affection.

What can grandparents do in these painful events? Here’s a look at grandparent rights for residents of Utah.

What Are Grandparent Rights?

While the U.S. Constitution does not explicitly have laws for grandparent rights, it provides provisional guidelines for states to follow if they so choose. It also provides the freedom for each state to create its regulations.

The State of Utah has decided to implement these guidelines to support both the grandparents and the grandchildren when a parent discontinues visitation rights.

An Overview of Grandparent Rights in Utah

It is crucial to understand that parental rights will always overrule grandparent rights. In Utah, parents reserve the right to allow or discontinue visits of their children with their grandparents. Grandparents, on the other hand, can appeal this decision provided that they fit the following criteria:

The grandparents are a proper and fit candidate for their grandchildren to visit.
There is no valid reason why the parent would deny or limit their child’s visitation to the grandparents.
The grandparents are the primary caregiver to their grandchild and terminating the relationship will have a significant negative impact on the child.
The child’s parent has gone AWOL (absent without leave).
The visits will serve the child’s best interests.

When Can Grandparents Have Custody of Their Grandchild?

Parents will always have primary custody of their children unless the courts deem them unfit. If both parents are unable to raise their child in a safe and conducive environment, grandparents can gain custody over their grandchild provided they fulfill the following criteria:

The grandparent is the child’s primary caregiver and provides all the needs the parent should have given to the child.
The grandparent and the child have a strong relationship akin to a parent-child relationship.
The grandparent has provided significant emotional and financial support to the child.
The grandparent is not receiving monetary gains or compensation for gaining custody over the child.
It is in the child or children’s best interests for the grandparent to assume custody.
The parents cannot provide a safe and conducive living environment of the child (for example, the parents have abused or neglected the child in the past).