Grandparents play an important and irreplaceable role in most children’s lives. But it may surprise many to know that you don't have an automatic right to see your grandchildren when your child separates from or divorces their ex-partner.
In practice, the family court does recognise the importance and benefits of children spending time with their grandparents. There’s a legal process you can follow to maintain a relationship with them.
Our child access solicitors can help grandparents get access to their grandchildren. With decades of experience as one of the UK's leading family law firms, you can be sure you'll have top experts on your side. Our experienced team can help you with:
Securing time with to your grandchildren where contact has been denied or restricted following separation or for another reason. Getting access to your grandchildren, even when your child doesn’t have access Becoming a legal guardian of a grandchild, or adopting them Becoming a special guardian of a grandchild Challenging a decision to relocate your grandchildren, where your child isn’t involved in the decision or has died.
Contact our team of experts who’ll be there to support you from start to finish.
Why choose Irwin Mitchell’s solicitors to help you get access to your grandchildren? Unless a limited number of exceptions apply, the court will require you to evidence that you’ve considered meditation or other forms of non-court dispute resolution (NCDR) before applying to the court. Our solicitors are trained negotiators and can help you through the process, whichever route you need to take.
We take a caring, understanding and straightforward approach to sorting out arrangements for grandchildren. We’re often instructed by worried grandparents who’ve received advice elsewhere and seek a second opinion, or who feel that their corner hasn’t been fought. Our experts will be honest with you about your chances of success from the start and will guide you through the process step by step.
We’ve recently acquired Silk Family Law, a well-known and respected family law firm in the UK and who are known for their expertise in family disputes such as the rights of grandparents. They’ll join our family law team and work with our clients across the UK.
No matter where you are, there’ll be an expert in your nearest office who’s able to help you with arrangements for seeing your grandchildren. If you’d prefer, we can meet you at an appropriate location or arrange video or phone calls.
We can also offer you emotional support while you sort access to your grandchildren. Our in-house counsellor, Vicky Lambert , can support you individually or help you build manageable relationships for your grandchildren. You’ll get four free sessions when you use our service; additional sessions can be arranged at a cost.
If your children have gone through a divorce, and you’d like to change your Will to reflect that, we can help. Our Wills team have decades of experience helping clients with updating Wills or writing a new one.
Mediation support service Mediation is becoming increasingly popular as a tool to resolve family disputes such as grandparents' rights. It offers you and your grandchild’s parents a safe space to discuss what you’d like to achieve and build a working relationship for your grandchildren.
We’ve a team of in-house mediators who’ll be there to support you and your grandchild’s parent throughout.
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