Common Grandparents’ Rights Issues in New Jersey

Grandparents often establish a special bond with their grandchildren, but that connection has become more important than ever. The shortage of housing accessible to first-time buyers, high rents, inflation, and costly childcare mean many young couples live with their parents or rely on them to care for their children while they work. Thus, grandparents are increasingly playing a necessary and practical role in their grandchildren’s lives in addition to providing them with love and support. Grandparents may even take on a parental role in certain situations.

A couple’s separation, death of a parent, or family disagreements, can disrupt the relationship between grandparents and their grandchildren. A family law attorney at Moskowitz Law Group can assist with any common grandparents’ rights issues in New Jersey.

Seeking Continued Contact

Situations can arise that cause parents to become estranged from their children’s grandparents. This often happens when the grandparents’ child dies or separates from their coparent, and the coparent retains custody of the children. Sometimes, a rift occurs between grandparents and their own child.

Parents have broad authority to decide who their children spend time with, and grandparents have no absolute right of access to their grandchildren. However, N.J.S.A.§ 9:2-7.1 provides a legal mechanism for grandparents to request visitation with their grandchildren.

A grandparent seeking visitation over a parent’s objection must prove by a preponderance of the evidence that visitation with the child is in the child’s best interests. In plain English, this means that a grandparent must provide evidence that makes it more likely than not that visitation with them would benefit the child. Our experienced attorneys in New Jersey can review this common issue and offer a candid assessment of whether a grandparent can meet this evidential burden.

Obtaining Custody Rights

Sometimes a grandparent seeks full custody of their grandchildren, or, to at least play the role of a parent in their grandchildren’s lives. There are two strategies that could result in a Court granting custody to grandparents over the parents’ objection.

When the grandparents have lived with the children and provided for them as a parent would, which may include financially, the grandparent could seek recognition as a psychological parent. When a grandparent is considered a psychological parent, their custody rights are equal to those of the children’s legal parents. To prove a case for psychological parenthood, the applicant must show that: (1) A biological or adopted parent consented to the applicant playing a parent-like role with the child and fostered that relationship; (2) The child and applicant resided in the same household; (3) The applicant assumed obligations similar to parenthood; and (4) The child has a bonded and dependent relationship with the applicant.

When a grandparent cannot meet the criteria for psychological parent status, they may still file for third-party custody. This is usually done in a temporary situation where the parents are unfit to parent the child while the grandparents pursue kinship legal guardianship or the State of New Jersey is pursuing a case for termination of the parents’ parental rights in a child abuse or neglect case. Another situation may be where the parents’ are unfit to care for the children and the grandparents take temporary custody of the children in the hopes that the parents may rehabilitate themselves. To obtain third-party custody, the grandparents must prove that the grandchildren’s parents are unfit and that custody being granted to the grandparents is in the best interests of the children. Proving that a child’s parents are unfit requires evidence demonstrating that the parents’ conduct has had a substantial adverse effect on the children. Attempting to prove the parents unfit carries a high burden and can cause a permanent rift in the family and is often a heart-wrenching choice for the grandparents. Attorneys at Moskowitz Law Group devote their professional careers to New Jersey family law issues and can guide a grandparent through these proceedings with compassion while focusing on the desired result.

Negotiation Is the Best Strategy, When Possible

Most family law issues are best resolved out of court whenever possible. Negotiating a resolution is private, less costly, usually quicker, and can be helpful in rebuilding family bonds. Usually, good faith negotiations between family members instead of adversarial and high conflict litigation bodes better for the family’s and the children’s futures.

When the parties involved are willing to participate, family counseling as part of an agreement can be helpful. A skilled mediator in New Jersey can help family members identify grandparents’ rights issues, focus on their common ground, and see each other‘s point of view on the issues in dispute, often leading to compromise and improved communication. A family law attorney can advocate for and guide grandparents through the mediation process. That said, people who do not agree to counseling are often unwilling to participate in mediation.

When mediation is unsuccessful or impossible, a family law attorney can still attempt to negotiate a settlement with the other parties or their legal representatives. If an agreement is reached, the parties can enter into an enforceable written agreement addressing visitation and any other relevant issues. When the agreement involves a transfer of custody, it must be submitted to the Court for review to ensure it is in the best interests of the children.

Sometimes a compromise is not possible. In such cases, a family law attorney can advocate for the grandparents in Court to present evidence, advocate for their claims, and obtain a just result that is in the children’s best interests.

Consult Moskowitz Law Group About Common Grandparents’ Rights Issues in New Jersey

Time with your grandchildren is precious. Being deprived of it is heartbreaking. Having to step in for your child or their coparent and assume parental responsibility for your grandchildren is also a difficult situation.

The Moskowitz Law Group can help you navigate these and other common grandparents’ rights issues in New Jersey. Your grandchildren need you now, so get started today.