Grandparents’ rights

Grandparents can play an important and irreplaceable role in a child’s life. But unlike parents, they don’t have automatic legal rights to see them.

Having access taken away can be devastating. But you might be able to get help through the courts.

The family court recognises the benefits of children spending time with their grandparents – and our child access solicitors are completely on your side. We can help you with:

• Securing time with your grandchildren where contact has been denied or restricted
• Getting access to your grandchildren, even when your child doesn’t have access
• Becoming a special guardian or legal guardian of a grandchild, or adopting them
• Challenging a decision to relocate your grandchildren, where your child isn’t involved in the decision, or has died.

We’ve worked with many worried grandparents who’ve taken advice elsewhere and want a second opinion – or who felt that their corner wasn’t being fought.

We’ll be honest about your chances of success, and will guide you through the process step by step.

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 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.