Q: Regarding grandparents rights. I live in California and the grandkids are in Nebraska. Where do I start?

A: Generally the action is filed in the county where the children are residing, assuming that they live in the county that has jurisdiction over them (which is likely). You generally contact an attorney that is licensed where you want/need to file the court action. It is usually filed by filing a Petition for Grandparent Visitation and then served on the parent by the sheriff. The parent has 30 days after being served with the Petition to file a response. Depending on how the other party responds (or not), you may need to set for hearing or move forward with preparing the action for trial, among other options depending on the circumstances. Some judges may order the parties to mediation to see if they can reach an agreement. Sometimes a judge will only give a trial date if the parties first try to mediate.

As far as I know, there are no forms for this. You would either need to draft the action on your own in a way that complies with the statutes and court rules/laws or retain an attorney to assist you. You would need to contact an attorney about your specific situation for price quote on a retainer. Initial retainers will likely be in the low thousands. How much the case will ultimately cost you will likely depend on how much time the attorney spends on the case. Most attorneys bill hourly for this type of case.

One of the main statutes regarding grandparent visitation rights is Neb. Rev. Stat. Section 43-1802, which includes the criteria and standard that a grandparent must prove for the Court to award visitation over a parent's objection.

Neb Rev. Stat. 43-1802.

Visitation; conditions; order; modification.

(1) A grandparent may seek visitation with his or her minor grandchild if:

(a) The child's parent or parents are deceased;

(b) The marriage of the child's parents has been dissolved or petition for the dissolution of such marriage has been filed, is still pending, but no decree has been entered; or

(c) The parents of the minor child have never been married but paternity has been legally established.

(2) In determining whether a grandparent shall be granted visitation, the court shall require evidence concerning the beneficial nature of the relationship of the grandparent to the child. The evidence may be presented by affidavit and shall demonstrate that a significant beneficial relationship exists, or has existed in the past, between the grandparent and the child and that it would be in the best interests of the child to allow such relationship to continue. Reasonable rights of visitation may be granted when the court determines by clear and convincing evidence that there is, or has been, a significant beneficial relationship between the grandparent and the child, that it is in the best interests of the child that such relationship continue, and that such visitation will not adversely interfere with the parent-child relationship.

(3) The court may modify an order granting or denying such visitation upon a showing that there has been a material change in circumstances which justifies such modification and that the modification would serve the best interests of the child.