Grandparents Rights In Missouri

Grandparent visitation and grandparent third-party custody are both specifically provided for in Missouri law. Both provisions have been tested in a variety of factual scenarios by the courts, and a clear picture of the alternatives for grandparents and their children can be derived from the statute and case law. 

Many states, however, limit grandparents’ rights to custody and visitation even when they are the primary caregivers for their grandchildren. If a grandparent’s child divorces and does not receive primary custody of the grandchildren, they may have limited contact with them, especially if the custodial parent refuses reasonable visitation.

Grandparents’ rights refer to the laws that control how and when a grandparent can be granted visitation or custody. These rights are primarily intended to ensure that a kid has access to the psychological and developmental benefits of having a grandparent in their life. This article explains grandparents’ rights in Missouri.

Grandparents Visitation Rights In Missouri

Grandparents in Missouri have the legal right to request reasonable visitation as long as it is not excessive or overbearing to the family. These grandparents rights in Missouri are exclusively available to biological grandparents and can be exercised if the following conditions are met:

• The parents of the child are married and are seeking a divorce or legal separation.
• After one parent dies, the surviving parent denies reasonable visitation privileges.
• The parents of the kid are divorced, and the grandparent has been refused visitation for more than 90 days.

The grandparent who requests visitation bears the “burden of proof” (i.e., the responsibility to present sufficient evidence) that the proposed visits are in the child’s best interests, taking into account health, safety, and welfare.

Judges assume that parents act in their children’s best interests. Thus, they give parental preferences for who gets to spend time with their children a lot of weight. If your grandchild’s parents object to your visits, the court will evaluate the objection and measure it against the child’s desire to spend time with you.

Suppose you are able to overcome the presumption in favor of the parent’s preference. In that case, you must show that regular contact with you is in the child’s best interests by presenting any relevant evidence, such as:

• The age of the child
• The physical or mental wellbeing of the child as a result of the visitation.
• The mental and physical health of all people involved, as well as their criminal records.
• The extent to which a grandparent-grandchild relationship already exists.

The court may take into account the requests of the child and/or appoint a custody evaluator to look into each parent’s and/or grandparent’s willingness and ability to satisfy the child’s requirements, interests, and daily schedules and routines. Suppose the court determines that the proposed time is in the child’s best interests. In that case, it may adopt it, but only with reasonable limitations or restrictions in the final visitation order.

Grandparents Custody Rights in Missouri

Custody is another facet of grandparents’ rights in Missouri. Courts recognise that in some cases, the best interests of a child necessitate granting custody to someone other than the kid’s natural parents. In this situation, a grandmother may be the greatest candidate for custody.

Unless there is sufficient evidence to support a different plan, Missouri courts assume that custody with natural parents is still in the kid’s best interests. The requirements for obtaining custody of a grandchild differ from those for obtaining visiting privileges.

A court must decide that both natural parents are unfit, unsuited, unwilling, or incapable to hold primary custody of the child or that some other extraordinary condition arises before awarding custody to someone other than the child’s natural parents.

A child who has been raised by a grandmother for many years while the original parent has been absent is the most prevalent exceptional case. If this is the case, our Springfield child custody lawyers can assist you in obtaining custody of your grandchild.

Grandparents Visitation Rights Procedure In Missouri

Grandparents have the legal authority to intervene in a divorce proceeding to obtain visitation with small children. A grandparent’s application to intervene in a divorce case exclusively on the subject of visitation rights will be granted by the court. If a grandparent has been refused visitation, the court must grant the grandparent’s application to intervene and modify a previous custody order through grandparents’ rights in Missouri.

A motion to intervene permits a person who was not a party to the lawsuit when it was first filed to be advised of future court proceedings and to be present at those sessions. In the circumstances involving grandparent visitation, the grandmother who wishes to intervene in the parents’ divorce must file a petition to intervene and request that the motion for intervention be granted.

A grandparent who has been refused visitation after a divorce case has been closed may file a petition to reopen the case with the court where the original case was filed. Grandparents who are denied visitation should retain a record of the precise time, date, place, and manner in which they were denied visitation, as well as any stated reasons for denial of visitation. If a matter goes to mediation or a hearing, this material may be useful afterwards.

Grandparent visitation may be subject to reasonable limitations or restrictions imposed by the court. The time and place where visiting will take place are examples of reasonable circumstances. A court may also consider whether there have been any previous issues with visitation, such as excessive phone calls or parental interference with visitation.

How do grandparents’ rights change when parents are living together and legally married?

There is a “rebuttable presumption” that a child’s natural parents know what is in their child’s best interests when they live together and are lawfully married. This implies that unless a grandparent can show that the parents are not acting in their child’s best interests, a court will not intervene in their choice to approve or refuse grandparent visits.

A minor child’s natural parents have the authority to make decisions about his or her upbringing, including schooling, healthcare, and religious training. This means that a court will not intervene in a parent’s decision about their child’s upbringing unless proof is presented that these actions are not in the child’s best interests.

Can grandparents sue for visitation rights in Missouri?

Grandparents in Missouri can fight for visitation rights in the following situations:

• The parents are divorced or are in the process of divorcing. Grandparents have the right to intervene in a divorce proceeding or make a motion to alter an existing ruling.
• One parent is deceased, and the other has refused to allow the deceased parent’s parents to visit.
• For at least six of the 24 months preceding the filing of the petition, the grandchild resided with the grandmother.

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