November 2019

It was National Grandparents’ Day earlier in October and in the Family Team we are all too aware of the important role grandparents have to play in family life, particularly the support they can offer when families break down. 

In many cases grandparents are a port in a storm for children that are caught in the middle of separating parents. Grandparents can sometimes be more neutral and more child-focused for children, and their home can be a calmer environment where their grandchildren can get away from the stresses at home.

We have seen a growing number of cases where grandparents have sadly become the first to be cut out of children’s lives upon separation. When parents separate, they sometimes turn their backs on their partner’s family. This can result in grandparents, who have been very present in a child’s life up to that point, suddenly finding themselves adrift through no fault of their own.  This is distressing for both the children and the grandparents.  We are keen that grandparents understand that they have legal options. 

Currently grandparents have no automatic rights to see their grandchildren, but the last 12 months has seen pressure groups and MPs call for an amendment to the Children Act to address this.  There has been a real shift in recent years to grandparents becoming aware that they are able to make court applications in their own right to try and maintain a relationship with their grandchildren if all else has failed. 

Given the existing family relationships, the ideal starting point to try and resolve disagreement is in a round table format.  This seeks to bring the parents and grandparents together to try and agree how to move forward cooperatively with the children’s interests as a priority.  The benefit of this forum is that everyone involved can agree a creative structure that suits all concerned.  Regular interaction between grandparents and grandchildren can range from teatime once a week or month up to the children moving to live some or all of the time with their grandparents.  In the Family Team we have seen a wide variety of ways in which grandparents can assist with care.

If a round table format fails, grandparents can apply to court for a spends time with Order or, if necessary, a lives with Order.  Although grandparents need permission to apply to the court, for all practical purposes the permission application is filed alongside the children application so that the court can grant permission for the grandparents to proceed with their application.  In our experience, the courts are open-minded about grandparental roles.  Where there is clear conflict between the parents, the courts recognise that the grandparents’ presence and influence can bring stability for children. These days we have more blended families, which take all kinds of different forms, and grandparents are a huge part of that.

Georgina Rayment

Head of Family

Expert
Georgina Rayment
Partner, Head of Family, Mediator