Q: Does a grandparent have any legal rights when it comes to visitation with grandchildren?
My husband passed away one years ago. My mother-in-law has been giving me a hard time and might pursue legal action to have visitation with our two children. Right now I do not allow her to be alone with the children. Does she have any legal rights as a grandparent? Children are not neglected or being mistreated.
A: In Ohio, grandparents can go to court and obtain visitation rights.
1 user found this answer helpful
A:
Major caveat: I am not licensed to practice in Ohio. You should consult at least one Ohio family law attorney.
Grandparents have the ability to go to court and seek grandparent visitation in some circumstances, which may include yours. However, at least theoretically, the court is required, as a matter of U.S. constitutional law acknowledged by the Ohio Supreme Court, to start out by presuming that a fit custodial parent's (your) decision to limit or deny grandparent visitation is in the child's best interests. It is up to the petitioning grandparent to rebut (disprove) this presumption. The court must give "special weight" to the parent's views. Exactly what is required to rebut the presumption, and what "special weight" means in any case, is more complicated.
1 user found this answer helpful
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