Aurora Grandparents Rights Lawyer

Grandparent rights have really deepened their roots in recent years. More and more, grandparents are exerting their right to visit their grandchildren and to maintain and deepen that important bond. The laws of the State of Colorado afford grandparents specific rights in specific situations, and these rights are often worth pursuing. If you need to establish your rights as a grandparent, an experienced Aurora family law attorney can help.

Your Grandparent Rights in the State of Colorado

In Colorado, as a grandparent, you have the right to request legal visitation with your grandchildren in all of the following situations:

1. The parents of your grandchildren have divorced, had their marriage annulled, or have legally separated.
2. Legal custody of the children has been awarded to someone other than one of their parents.
3. One of the children’s parents is no longer living.

In other words, if the parents of your grandchildren are no longer together for any reason, you can request grandparent visitation. If the parents of your grandchildren remain together as a couple, it is within their parental rights to preclude you from having visitation with their children.

If any one of the listed scenarios does apply, however, and the court deems that a regular visitation schedule with you as their grandparent is in the children’s best interests, it is within the court’s power to order it so. Not every grandparent, however, will be awarded visitation, and it is important to have a legal advocate during this process.

When Grandparent Rights Go Beyond Visitation

Sometimes grandparents have reason to seek more than mere visitation and request instead partial or sole custody of their grandchildren. A grandparent has the right to seek such custody when any of the following apply:

• Law enforcement has removed the children from their homes due to extenuating circumstances, such as one parent’s allegations of domestic violence being perpetrated by the other parent. In such instances, grandparents are generally preferred over other potential foster parents because of the loving, familial bond that often exists between grandparents and their grandchildren. Grandparents, however, typically aren’t given preference over the parent who made the allegations in the first place.
• As the children’s grandparents, you have been providing them with actual physical care on an ongoing basis and hope to assume some or all of the parental responsibilities for the children.
• As the children’s grandparent, you have been providing physical care to the children for at least the last six months, and you want to move forward by assuming legal parental responsibilities for the children.

Seek the Legal Counsel of an Experienced Aurora Grandparent Rights Attorney Today

Your bond with your grandchildren is naturally very important to you, and if you have concerns about protecting your right to spend time with your grandchildren, the Aurora grandparent rights Lawyers at CNL Law Firm, PLLC, are committed to helping you establish your legal right to visitation – or even to custody, if it’s in the best interest of the children. Our dedicated legal team shares your concerns, so please don’t hesitate to contact us online or call us at (720) 370-2171 for more information today.