Visitation and Grandparents’ Rights in New Jersey
As a grandparent, you want to spend as much time with your grandchildren as possible so you can dote on them, pass on family traditions, create memories with them, and care for them. While there are grandparent visitation and a form of grandparents’ rights in New Jersey, the Court does not automatically grant you visitation or create a schedule for when you can see your grandchildren. Instead, you need to exercise your right to file an application with the Court to ask for an order that allows you to visit with your grandchildren on a particular schedule or during a certain time.
At Moskowitz Law Group, we focus our entire law practice on divorce and family law matters, which has allowed us to develop a thorough understanding of the legal and practical dynamics of domestic issues. We appreciate how challenging it can be for a grandparent to watch their loved ones go through a divorce or custody case and wonder whether they will be able to see their grandchildren when the dust settles in their child’s case. Our grandparents’ rights attorneys welcome the opportunity to advocate for you during this time and create an effective strategy to help you obtain the right to connect with your grandchildren.
Do Grandparents Have Visitation Rights?
Under New Jersey law and the Constitution of the United States, parents have a presumptive right to the care and companionship of their children, which includes visitation in the event of divorce or separation. Conversely, grandparents, do not have a presumptive right to visitation with their grandchildren. Under New Jersey law, however, grandparents have a right to file an application with the Court to seek visitation with and be part of the lives of their grandchildren. As part of this process, the grandparents need to prove that granting them visitation with the children would be in the children’s best interests. For example, they might accomplish this by showing they have a healthy and meaningful relationship with the grandchildren and that discontinuing contact would harm the children.
By gathering and presenting evidence and legal arguments, a seasoned New Jersey grandparents’ rights attorney can help grandparents continue their relationship with their grandchildren through visitation. Family law attorneys know how critical it is for a child to have a solid system of loving support to help them learn and grow. Making an application to the Court for visitation rights is one way for a grandparent to accomplish this goal, allowing them to pass on their knowledge and customs to their grandchildren.
How Do Grandparents Exercise Their Right to Seek Visitation with Their Grandchildren?
As explained in N.J.S.A. 9: 2-7.1, grandparents can ask the Court to issue a visitation order, which would establish the grandparents’ right to see their grandchildren and exactly when they will see them. In their application to the Court, the grandparents need to provide information about themselves and their grandchildren and the grandchildren’s parents and the reason they are asking for visitation order. They also need to establish how having visitation with the grandchildren would be in the children’s best interests.
When deciding how to rule on the request, the Court must look at several factors, including, but not limited to the grandparents’ relationship with their grandchildren and the grandchildren’s parents, how long it has been since they last saw their grandchildren, and the time sharing arrangement between the children’s parents if they are divorced. Additionally, the Court will ensure that the grandparents visiting the children will not have an unduly adverse impact on the stability of the existing family units. Because of the complex legal requirements involved, many grandparents who need help understanding and asserting their right to seek visitation find it beneficial to work with a knowledgeable family law attorney in New Jersey.
Moskowitz Law Group: Protecting Grandparents’ Rights in New Jersey for Decades
The bond between grandparents and their grandchildren is special. It is important to foster and allow this bond to grow stronger so it can enrich the lives of the children involved. While the Court does not automatically grant rights to grandparents to visit with the children, New Jersey law does allow grandparents to formally ask the Court to approve a schedule so they can see them.
Moskowitz Law Group has helped many individuals and families navigate the complex area of visitation and grandparents’ rights in New Jersey. Contact our legal team today to schedule a no-obligation consultation with one of our family law attorneys to discuss your concerns and develop solutions.
