Grandparents and Third-Party Custody – Visitation in South Carolina

Columbia SC Divorce Lawyer – Family Law Attorney

When a couple is going through a period of ongoing marital strife they are logically going to consider filing for divorce. If they have no children and they haven’t been married for very long it is still a difficult decision, but it is one that is truly between the husband and wife. However, once a married couple has children the entire equation changes. There are new bonds that develop, and one of them is going to be the connection that exists between the children and their grandparents.

We are all aware of how close and meaningful these relationships can be, so most couples who get divorced do everything possible to keep the doors wide open and allow for visitation by the grandparents. However, there are cases when visitation is denied, and the matter of whether or not grandparents have the legal right to visitation is somewhat controversial, and it is handled differently state by state.  A bill was signed into law in the state of South Carolina in 2010 that does allow grandparents to petition the court to order visitation rights under certain circumstances.

When you hear about grandparents being denied visitation rights, on the surface it may seem that any parent who would stand in the way of such a visit is doing both the grandparents and the children a disservice. However, parents do have the right to raise their children as they see fit, and they are probably not going to deny visitation for no reason whatsoever. The court will take all factors into account before rendering a decision, and it will be up to the grandparents to prove that visitation is in the best interests of the children and not in any way interfering with the parent/child relationship.

Grandparents or other interested third parties can be granted custody of dependent children as well when the circumstances warrant it. Custody is usually granted to the grandparents with little hesitation if there is no resistance from the parents or if they are unfit, deceased, or otherwise absent and unable to care for the children.

If you have questions about grandparents and third party custody/visitation, contact a Columbia SC family attorney to arrange for a free consultation.