The Limitations of Grandparents’ Rights in NC

In North Carolina, grandparents do have certain rights when it comes to seeing and spending time with their grandchildren. However, grandparents’ rights are currently quite limited. State law presumes that a child’s biological parents are the fit and proper persons to care for the child. In many situations, however, this is not the case, and grandparents or other family members have to step in to raise the children.

But, obtaining visitation and obtaining custody are two different actions. Each one has specific requirements that must be met. In general, obtaining custody of the grandchild is going to be more difficult than obtaining visitation rights.

The Best Interest of the Grandchild

As far as visitation or child custody, the court’s decision must always be in the best interest of the grandchild. This is the standard that the court generally makes all of its determinations in regards to child custody. The grandparent must also have a parent-like relationship with the grandchild.

To show a parent-like relationship, the court may look to:

• how much time the grandparent generally spends with the grandchild
• how the grandparent provides for the grandchild
• how involved the grandparents are with the grandchild’s schooling
• or even how involved the grandparent is with the grandchild’s extracurricular activities.

Generally, there must be a stable and loving environment for the grandchild for the court to award either custody or visitation.

Getting Child Custody as a Grandparent

When trying to obtain custody of the grandchild, there must already be an ongoing custody action between the parents. In most circumstances where grandparents are awarded custody, the parents have not cared adequately for the grandchild, or are deemed unfit. Usually, this means that there is severe drug abuse happening or there is a clear risk of bodily injury to the grandchild while the grandchild is in the care of the parents.

A few factors that can deem a parent unfit are:

• Mental instability or illness
• Being unable to care for the child financially
• Drug abuse
• Having the child in a dangerous place
• Abandoning the child

Most of the time, if the situation is one in which DSS would not take the grandchild away from the parents, the court will not do so either. Therefore, there must be a great risk to the grandchild’s physical or mental health while in the parent’s care to justify the grandparents having custody.

Getting Visitation Rights as a Grandparent

When trying to obtain visitation rights with the grandchild, the grandparent will file a Motion to Intervene. This motion establishes the grandparent’s right to intervene in the custody the parents have over the child. The grandparent will be known as the Intervenor. This action is a little more relaxed than trying to obtain custody. The Court will usually look to the best interest of the grandchild and determine how strong of a relationship the grandparents have had with the grandchild in the past. Any showing of unfitness by the parents will also help the grandparents gain visitation.

Speak with an Attorney About Grandparents’ Rights in NC

In short, a grandparent does have certain rights over their grandchild in North Carolina so long as they have established a strong relationship with the grandchild and it would be in the best interest of the grandchild to continue their relationship with the grandparent. Any showing of unfitness by the parents will help a grandparent obtain visitation rights to their grandchildren.

Contact us today to speak with an experienced family law attorney who is knowledgeable about grandparents’ rights in North Carolina. We have offices in Winston-Salem, Greensboro, and High Point.