Grandparents Denied Visitation In Virginia
Licensed in Virginia to practice Family Law

Grandparents Denied Visitation

If you're the grandparent, and the custodial parent is balking at allowing you visitations with your grandchildren in Virginia, you have a tough road to travel.

You might first want to try a mediation session with the children's parents before trying to enforce a legal visitation agreement in Virginia.  Child Visitation Mediation in Virginia means that you hire a neutral third party to help all of you create a legally binding agreement that everyone can respect and live with. If mediation doesn't work and you end up in court petitioning for grandparents visitation rights in Virginia, be prepared to testify under oath about your relationship with your grandchildren, your relationship with the parents, any custody or visitation arrangements you had before the court action, and the last time you saw your grandchildren. Also be prepared to discuss your personal history, including any medical troubles or problems with the law. Remember - you're under scrutiny here. The court is deciding whether you should spend time with your grandchild -- and the judge won't hesitate to pry into your personal matters.

If you're a chain smoker, you may be asked to refrain from smoking in the child's presence in Virginia. If you don't, the parent may ask the court to discontinue your visitation. If you cannot, for health reasons, perform some tasks independently or correctly, your visitation may be supervised.

This doesn't mean the court is prejudiced against you. You face standards similar to those faced by a non-custodial parent seeking visitation: The children's welfare is always given the highest priority. But as we said, the Virginia courts will give great deference to a parent's decision to limit visitation.

If reasonable visitation schedules or accommodations just can't be made - you may well want to consider the help of an experienced attorney. Family court can be a difficult maze to navigate, and a skilled and knowledgeable Virginia grandparents lawyer can make sure all your rights are fully and adequately protected.