Grandparents Rights In Delaware

The constitutional right of parents to supervise their children’s upbringing, including who they visit, is fundamental. Nonetheless, every state recognises grandparent visiting in some form.

You may have legal remedies if a child’s parent has severed your relationship with a grandchild. If certain criteria are present, grandparents can secure some visitation with their grandkids, and the visits would be in the child’s best interests. Grandparent visitation, or in some cases, a grant of custody, will depend on the specific circumstances of your case. Grandparent rights in Delaware are discussed in this article.

 Grandparent Visitation Laws In Delaware

Despite the fact that there is no federal statute governing grandparent rights in Delaware, one Supreme Court case has had an impact on every state’s grandparent visitation regulations, with some being overturned.

A grandparent visiting statute was at issue in Troxel v. Granville. A judge must give considerable weight to a parent’s visitation desires under Troxel. It’s not enough that a child might benefit from spending time with a grandmother. A grandparent must demonstrate that a parent’s objections to visitation are not in the kid’s best interests and that visitation is necessary for the child’s well-being.

Grandparent Visitation Rights in Delaware

Grandparents have some specific rights when it comes to spending time with their grandkids, despite the fact that they are not parents. A grandmother can petition (ask) a court for visitation under specific circumstances, even if it isn’t automatic. A grandparent can request visitation if it is in the best interests of the kid and:

• The visits are permitted by one parent.
• The little child was neglected or abused while in the care of the parent, and the parent is no longer alive.
• Although the parent objects to visitation, the grandparent has demonstrated that the objection is irrational and that visits will not disrupt the parent-child bond.

For example, in one Delaware instance, a grandmother requested visitation after the children’s parents abruptly barred all visits. The grandmother couldn’t show that the parents’ objections were irrational. Thus the court denied her plea. The grandma had previously disregarded the parents’ wishes by feeding the youngsters junk food and bringing them to the river’s edge.

The grandmother was denied visitation because she refused to comply with the parents’ requests. The grandmother was unable to demonstrate that the parents’ objections were irrational or that visits would be beneficial to the children.

Delaware courts will consider the following elements when determining a child’s best interests:

• The wishes of the child.
• The relationship between the child and his or her grandparents.
• The relationship between a child and his or her parents.
• The child’s integration into the community.
• The physical and emotional well-being of the grandparents.
• The physical and emotional requirements of the kid.
• If there is any proof of domestic violence.
• Whether the grandparents have ever been in trouble with the law.

Any additional issue relevant to a child’s best interests can be considered by a judge.

Grandparent Custody Rights in Delaware

A grandparent cannot gain custody unless parental rights have been terminated by a court. When a parent’s rights are terminated by a court, even a non-blood relative, such as a step-grandparent, may be eligible for custody. When it would be in the child’s best interests for a court to give a grandmother custody of a grandchild, and:

• The rights of the parents have been revoked.
• Adoption is neither possible nor desirable.
• The grandfather has been the child’s guardian for the past six months.

A grandfather and step grandmother were given custody of their grandchildren in one Delaware case. The mother of the kid filed an appeal of the lower court’s judgment to give the grandparents custody of the child. On the other hand, the children’s mother was not equipped or capable of caring for her children, according to the court. The grandfather and step grandmother had already functioned as guardians for the children for 6 months. In the end, it was in the children’s best interests to live with their grandparents.

Adoption and Grandparent Visitation Rights

Adoption, in most situations, severs all relationships between biological parents and grandparents. Once a kid is adopted, a grandparent usually cannot request visitation under grandparent rights in Delaware. In addition, unless the grandparents can establish that continuing visitation serves the child’s best interests, adoption may terminate any preexisting visitation orders between the adopted kid and grandparents.

A set of paternal grandparents, for example, were granted visitation with their grandchild in a Delaware case. The child’s father was then stripped of his parental rights, and the child was adopted by the mother’s new spouse. Despite giving weight to the parents’ preferences, the court concluded that maintaining the child’s relationship with grandparents was in the child’s best interests.

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