need hope

[madeclean]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? pa
My son and I are in court, he battered me. Now he and his girlfriend are keeping my grandson from seeing me . What rights do I have ?

[TheGeekess]

Grandparents have no inherent legal rights.

If both parents are in agreement, then you've got a tough row to hoe to prove to a court of law that it would be beneficial to the grandchild for you to be granted any visitation.

[ElvinMelvin]

Originally Posted by madeclean

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? pa
My son and I are in court, he battered me. Now he and his girlfriend are keeping my grandson from seeing me . What rights do I have ?

ETA: What follows assumes that your son has established paternity. If he has not, then he has no rights as a parent and, in the eyes of the law, you are not a grandparent.

You have a right to file a petition with the court in the county where the child lives to request an order of visitation to see your grandson.

Keep in mind that this has nothing to do with protecting your rights--as Geekess pointed out, you have none. But if the court decides that it is in your grandson's best interest to have visitation with you, they may grant it.

Your standing to file a petition comes under 23 Pa.C.S.A. § 5312, as your son and the child's mother are not married.

Pennsylvania is one of the more liberal states in terms of grandparent visitation in that they only require a showing that it is in the best interest of the child to see the grandparents and not that harm will come to the child if visitation is denied (see Fausey v. Hiller).

With that said, as Geekess pointed out, if both parents are in agreement it's going to be tough to make your case. As opposed to grandparents, parents actually have a fundamental liberty interest under the 14th Amendment to the Constitution as to the care, custody and control of their children, and the court must presume that the parents always act in the best interest of their children. You would have to prove to the court that this is not the case.

Since you are already in court with your son because you claim that he has battered you, I don't reckon that filing the petition will do anything more to poison that relationship. However, these cases can run into the tens of thousands of dollars, so if you are going to pursue it, do so with eyes open as to your chances (slim).

JMHO