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Under Missouri law, grandparents can legally request reasonable visitation with their grandchildren. Although Missouri law does not provide a standard visitation schedule for grandparents, the visitation must be within normal limits and in the child's best interests.

 

But, even in instances in which grandparents are the primary caregivers to grandchildren, they often have limited rights to custody and visitation in many states. Similarly, grandparents routinely have to deal with limited access to grandchildren if their child gets divorced and is not granted primary custody of the grandchildren – especially if the other custodial parent makes it difficult for the grandparents to see the grandchildren. Fortunately however, here in Missouri there are laws that protect the visitation rights of grandparents.

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Interestingly, it is not a prerequisite under Missouri law for the parents of a child to be married in order for the grandparents to petition for visitation rights. For instance, grandparents can still seek visitation if their son – the putative father of the child – is not married to the child’s mother or has never developed a relationship with the child.

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It is important to note, however, that grandparents do not have an automatic right to grandchild visitation – unlike noncustodial parents. For instance, grandparents must proactively seek intervention, and they bear the burden of proving that it is in the best interests of the grandchild for the court to grant them visitation rights.

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Consequently, if you are a grandparent and are currently seeking to establish visitation rights with your grandchild, it is often advisable to speak with an experienced grandparent rights attorney to learn what your rights and options may be given your circumstances.

 

To speak to Brian directly, email him directly at bmf@faucettlaw.com to schedule your initial consultation.