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What are my legal rights?

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tmsgrandma

Junior Member
What is the name of your state?

I live in Indiana and my 4 yr. old granddaughter lives in Missouri with her mother. My son has visitation rights, but has moved out of state for work so he only gets to talk to his daughter on the phone right now. I would like to talk to my granddaughter by phone at least once a week and be able to have her come here from time to time to visit. My ex-daughter-in-law is being very incooperative and I would like to know what my legal rights are.
Thank you.
 


LdiJ

LdiJ

Senior Member
tmsgrandma said:
What is the name of your state?

I live in Indiana and my 4 yr. old granddaughter lives in Missouri with her mother. My son has visitation rights, but has moved out of state for work so he only gets to talk to his daughter on the phone right now. I would like to talk to my granddaughter by phone at least once a week and be able to have her come here from time to time to visit. My ex-daughter-in-law is being very incooperative and I would like to know what my legal rights are.
Thank you.
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You have no legal rights where your granddaughter is concerned. You can spend a ton of money to petition the courts to attempt to get visitation rights...which is very iffy since your son is alive and has rights (and would guarantee permanent hostility between you and your daughter in law)....or you can make friends your your daughter in law so that she will welcome your involvement in the child's life.

The reality of things is that grandparents visit during their own child's time....so the best long term solution is to make sure that your son makes the effort to come back as often as possible to spend time with his child, which would also give you time with the child.
 
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tmsgrandma

Junior Member
Why do I have "no" rights to keep in contact with my granddaughter? This seems strange to me. My son lives in yet another state than me or my granddaughter, so how would that help me have more contact with her?


LdiJ said:
You have no legal rights where your granddaughter is concerned. You can spend a ton of money to petition the courts to attempt to get visitation rights...which is very iffy since your son is alive and has rights (and would guarantee permanent hostility between you and your daughter in law)....or you can make friends your your daughter in law so that she will welcome your involvement in the child's life.

The reality of things is that grandparents visit during their own child's time....so the best long term solution is to make sure that your son makes the effort to come back as often as possible to spend time with his child, which would also give you time with the child.
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stealth2

stealth2

Under the Radar Member
Because you are not the child's mother. Her parents have rights - you are legally a stranger.
 
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tmsgrandma

Junior Member
I know I am not her mother! But I am her Grandmother! Do you have any legal background telling me this or are you just stating your opinion?
 
stealth2

stealth2

Under the Radar Member
I've done enough research (no, I am not an attorney, however) to know that grandparents do not have intrinsic rights to have a relationship with their grandchildren. Generally, when both parents are alive, the grandparents get to see the grandkid(s) when their son/daughter has the kid(s). Why is your son unable to exercise his visitation rights where he is?
 
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tmsgrandma

Junior Member
My son is in another state....... so it is impossible for him to get her on a regular basis. When he lived close to his daughter we had contact with her thru him, either by phone or they would come to visit us. For a while after he moved I was able to reach her by phone, but now her mother won't answer the phone when she sees caller id that it is me... not sure why. She had always promised me that she would never keep me from my granddaughter and now she is.......
 
stealth2

stealth2

Under the Radar Member
tmsgrandma said:
My son is in another state....... so it is impossible for him to get her on a regular basis.
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Okay - I don't understand this. My ex is also in a different state. He has no problem seeing the kids on a regular basis. WHY can he not do so?
 
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tmsgrandma

Junior Member
My son recently moved...... and started his new job (which he has no vacation time at as of yet). everytime he tries to set up visitation with his ex she comes up with and excuse.... so he has scheduled a flight back to stay for a weekend and get his daughter. My granddaughter lives about 10-11 hours from me by car and my son is even further west of her.

This has all taken place within the last 4 months.
 
B

BelizeBreeze

Senior Member
tmsgrandma said:
My son recently moved...... and started his new job (which he has no vacation time at as of yet). everytime he tries to set up visitation with his ex she comes up with and excuse.... so he has scheduled a flight back to stay for a weekend and get his daughter. My granddaughter lives about 10-11 hours from me by car and my son is even further west of her.

This has all taken place within the last 4 months.
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Lady, you have been told twice that you have absolutely no legal rights. And now I'll tell you for the third time. A grandparent HAS NO INTRINSIC LEGAL RIGHTS TO THE GRANDCHILD.

Now, you want to question me on my qualifications, first go down to the local attorney's office, plunk down $1,000 for a retainer, then wait about a year for a judge to tell you the same damn thing.

You have not stated one FACT that would give rise to legal standing to sue for visitation. All you have posted here are excuses. And they give you nothing. You want visitation, put a burr under sonnyboy's butt about HIS visitation. That is the ONLY way you will get anything.
 
LdiJ

LdiJ

Senior Member
tmsgrandma said:
My son recently moved...... and started his new job (which he has no vacation time at as of yet). everytime he tries to set up visitation with his ex she comes up with and excuse.... so he has scheduled a flight back to stay for a weekend and get his daughter. My granddaughter lives about 10-11 hours from me by car and my son is even further west of her.

This has all taken place within the last 4 months.
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I do understand your frustration, however we are telling you the truth. You don't have an legal rights to your granddaughter. If you were to attempt to obtain legal visitation rights (which again, as I said before would be iffy at best) you would have to file in the mother's community which would make it a very expensive case for you to litigate.
 
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MonieLove

Junior Member
Sorry, ma'am. But as harsh as it sounds, you don't have any LEGAL rights, only privileges. As long as the parents are alive and/or deemed fit, you don't have the proverbial leg to stand on. And that's a LEGAL fact. If you don't want to rely on your son's sporadic visits, my suggestion to you is to at least try to forge an amicable relationship with the child's mother...bite the bullet...that is, if your motives are sincere and you just want to spend time with the child. Most people fail to understand in custody battles is that you can't "walk over" someone else to get to your relationship with the child, especially a spouse or a parent.
 
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