Grandparents’ Rights Attorneys in North Carolina and South Carolina

Grandparents’ Rights Lawyers

The US Census conducted in 2000 found that nearly 7% of all minor children were living in grandparent-headed households that year, and that number has increased by 16% over the last decade. Courts have come to recognize that grandparents play an important part in raising healthy, well-adjusted children. As a grandparent, you need to be able to obtain rights to visitation, custody, and/or adoption of your grandchild if your grandson or granddaughter is ever in a compromising situation under the care of his or her parents.

Passionately Fighting for Grandparents’ Rights

At Collins Family & Elder Law Group, we understand that child custody disputes are difficult for everyone in the family. While the main focus of a custody action is the parents and their children, there are many other people who are affected – including the grandparents. We know as a grandparent, your primary concern is the well-being of your grandchild, and you will fight for the opportunity to as much give love, care, and support as possible.

Our grandparents’ rights attorneys in NC and SC will tirelessly advocate for your rights to see your grandchildren if the circumstances of the case allow you to take legal action.

Grandparent Visitation and Custody Rights in North and South Carolina

As a grandparent, you may have grounds to fight for more rights to your grandchild. At Collins Family & Elder Law, we take grandparents’ rights in NC and SC seriously, and we’ll fight on your behalf to secure the following and more:

• General grandchild visitation rights
• Vacation and travel rights
• Scheduled contact rights, such as phone calls and emails
• Regular updates on your grandchild’s well-being and home life, ensuring the child’s residence is not abusive or neglectful

In North Carolina and South Carolina, there are several statutes in place to help grandparents obtain visitation and custody rights to their grandchildren. These statutes merely help you ask for these rights; they don’t necessarily ensure that they’ll be granted to you. Ask our grandparents’ rights lawyers to help you determine which statute will most benefit you and the best way to proceed for your circumstances.

Obtaining Custody Rights

All parents have constitutional rights to raise their children. It is well within a parent’s rights to say who their children can spend time with, so if you are a grandparent seeking physical or legal custody of your grandchild, you must establish reason to bring your case to a lawsuit.

Before you do this, however, you need to prove that the child’s parents are unfit to raise their child. Be aware that it isn’t easy to override a parent’s constitutionally given right to custody, so if you have reason to believe that your grandchild is in unfit hands, speak with one of our grandparents’ rights attorneys in NC or SC as soon as possible to find out if you have a case.

Obtaining Visitation Rights

As a grandparent in North or South Carolina, you have the right to petition the court for visitation rights if a divorce, separation, or death has interfered with your grandchild’s family life to the point that his or her parents no longer live together. Sometimes, separation and divorce proceedings will enumerate the visitation rights of the grandparents. 

If your grandchild’s stepparent has adopted him or her, you can still get court-ordered visitation if you can show that you already have a significant relationship established with your grandchild. The states have not defined what this means in legal terms, but the courts almost always grant visitation rights to grandparents who have had a significant role in raising the child, or who have been actively involved with the child through regular visits. The approach you take to obtaining visitation rights depends on whether or not the child and parents have a custody order already in place.

If a custody order does exist, all you need to do is file a motion to intervene and request visitation rights to your grandchild. In most cases, the court will enter an order for child custody and provide you with visitation rights, so long as the visits are considered to be within the child’s best interests. An attorney for grandparents’ rights can give you the best chance of success in this process.

What to Do If Your Grandchild Is in Danger in a Custodial Parent’s Care

Custody cases can take months to sort through. If your grandchild’s safety is compromised while in the care of their custodial parent, you don’t have months to waste. If you are worried about your grandchild’s safety, make sure to contact law enforcement and/or Child Protective Services in your grandchild’s area. If you’re fighting for custody, be sure to gather paperwork from these officials that documents the abuses. This information will help your case in a custody battle.