It’s unfortunate, but not all Minnesota grandparents are able to visit their grandchildren. Their relationship with the child’s parents may have broken down or the family may have moved out of state. However, there are situations when a Minnesota grandparent can file a motion with a family court requesting visitation with their grandchildren. So, here are three situations when this type of motion can be filed. However, Minnesota courts will only grant such a petition if they believe that contact with the child will be in the best interest of the child and will not obstruct the relationship between the child and the parent.
The first situation is if one or both of the child’s parents have died. In this kind of situation, a court may believe that visits from the grandparents can be a stabilizing influence on the child’s development and may, therefore, grant the petition.
Another time the court may grant grandparent visitation is if the parents of the child in question have gone through a divorce or a separation. Other similar situations that the court will consider include a change in parental custody, an annulment of the parents’ marriage or a situation involving the paternity of the child. Whenever a family has gone through an emotional situation such as this, the court may believe that the presence of the grandparents can help the child in question.
A grandparent can also file a petition for visitation if the child lived with the grandparent for a period of time. However, any Minnesota grandparent who would like to file for visitation rights may want to speak to a family attorney to explore if they can file for visitation time.
Source: grandparents.about.com, “Minnesota Grandparents’ Rights,” Feb. 15, 2016