Do grandparents have the right to visit?

Sometimes grandparents have the right to visit their grandchildren.

You do not have to let grandparents visit your child if they do not have a court order. But they might be able to get a court order that says they can visit.

In Massachusetts, the law says that grandparents have the right to ask a court for visits if:

• the parents were married and got divorced;
• the parents are still married, but are living apart and there is a court order about the separation; or
• the parents were never married , they are living apart, and the father has signed an “acknowledgment of paternity” or there is a court judgment saying that he is the father.

The court can give the grandparents some visitation if they show at a hearing that:

• it is in your child's best interest; and
• they had an important relationship with your child before the case began; and
• it will be very harmful to your child’s health, safety, or welfare if your child cannot see them.

Even if the grandparent did not have an important relationship with the child before the case began, the court can still grant visitation rights. The court can grant visitation rights if the grandparent can prove that visitation is still necessary to protect the child from “significant harm”.

If you think it would be harmful for your child to visit with his or her grandparents, tell the judge why.

If you think that it is not in your child’s best interest to visit with his or her grandparents, tell the judge why.

Examples

• There is a court order saying the other parent cannot see your child, and he is planning to use his parents’ visitation rights to see your child;
• The grandparents drink alcohol around your child; or
• Any other reason it would be harmful to your child to see his or her grandparents.