SEEKING GRANDPARENT VISITATION? WELL, LIFE JUST GOT EASIER.

If you are seeking Grandparent Visitation with a grandchild who is being withheld from you by an angry parent, you’re in luck. Because Family Law in Arizona has recently changed and life has suddenly become easier for those seeking Grandparents Visitation and Grandparents Custody. The storm clouds are parting and blowing away, and the sun is shining through. – Let me explain . . .

PREVIOUS LEGAL BARRIERS FOR MADE IT HARD FOR GRANDPARENTS

The law pertaining to Grandparent Rights can be found in Arizona Revised Statutes, Section 25-409. That statute contains the requirements for someone seeking Grandparent Visitation. The law also states that: “In deciding whether to grant visitation to a (grandparent), the court shall give special weight to the legal parent’s opinion of what serves their child’s best interests . . .”

Over the past few years, the higher courts in Arizona interpreted “special weight” as meaning that a judge has to give “Robust Deference” to the parents’ decision; and that to obtain grandparent visitation, grandparents must show that cutting them out of the picture would cause “Substantial Harm” to the child. This was a very high bar to reach, an obstacle that in many cases made it impossible for grandparents to obtain visitation rights.

BUT THINGS HAVE NOW CHANGED

But that has changed, and the bar has now been lowered. In the recent case of Friedman v. Roels, 401 P3d 884 (Ariz. 2018), the Arizona Supreme Court ruled that  Arizona Grandparents who are seeking visitation no longer need to prove “substantial harm” to the child and that although a judge must still give the parents’ decision “special weight,” it is not to be accorded “robust deference.” This allows the Court to put more emphasis on the best interests of the child. Whereas, before, a judge was practically required to give in to the wishes of an angry parent, that is no longer the case. Grandparents who meet the requirements of the statute now have a fighting chance to obtain an order giving them visitation of their grandchildren, even over the objection of a parent who, out of anger or animosity, is trying to cut them out of the children’s lives.

We recently won an appeal in a Grandparent Rights case due to the change in the law, and we expect that it will become easier to obtain Grandparent Visitation orders down the road as a result of this new Supreme Court ruling.

NEED HELP? — GIVE US A CALL

If you are a grandparent who is unfairly being deprived of the ability to have a relationship with your grandchildren, and you wish to obtain an order for Grandparent Visitation or Custody, give us a call. We may be able to help.

Gary Frank and Hanna Amar are Arizona Family Law Attorneys who represent many grandparents and other non-parents in Arizona courtrooms. They are grandparents’ rights attorneys who are strong litigators and compassionate counselors, and who will fight to protect your interests. If you are in need of a consultation regarding how to assert your grandparents’ or non-parents rights, please call us today at 602-922-9989; or contact us by email through our website at www.famlawaz.com.