The relationship between a grandparent and their grandchildren is supposed to be a happy one. Some grandparents are fine with never getting to see their grandchildren. However, others experience great heartache and depression when they are kept from their grandchildren by one, or both, of the custodial parents. You may feel like there is nothing you can do to change the situation, but that is not completely true. It is possible for you to win visitation rights. Here are three things you need to know about seeking visitation with your grandchildren.

1. An attorney isn't necessarily required, but can be extremely helpful.

If you want to file a motion for a hearing in family court to see if you can get visitation with your grandchildren, you actually don't have to hire an attorney. As long as you fill out the paperwork correctly, pay any required filing fees, and submit it to the right place, you can file a motion yourself - this is called a pro se motion. 

However, it can be very beneficial to your case if you do hire legal representation because an attorney will have a more insight into what standards the judge is going to use to examine whether or not you should have visitation with your grandchildren. So, while you may save money by filing for yourself, you could still end up without court-ordered visitation with your grandchildren if you don't hire an attorney to plead your case in court.

2. Every state has its own laws regarding grandparent's rights.

Something that not many realize is that the laws regarding grandparent's rights differs from state to state. So, just because you have the same circumstances as your friend in a different state did when they won visitation, doesn't mean you will in your home state. 

Some states are very simple in how they determine grandparent's rights for visitation. For example, if you live in the state of Delaware, a court will usually only award visitation with grandchildren if it is in the child's best interest. If the court thinks that the visitation could do more harm than good to the well-being of the child, then the grandparent would not win their case. 

On the other hand, some states apply a more complex test to determine the outcome of the case. The state of Tennessee is a good example of this. The court will only grant visitation with grandchildren if one of several scenarios exist, in addition to the child potentially being harmed if they are denied access to their grandparents. The scenarios that can get a grandparent in Tennessee visitation are:

• One of the biological parents is dead
• The biological parents are divorced or never married to each other
• One of the biological parents has been missing for 6 months or more
• Visitation was awarded by a court in a different state
• The child in question lived with the grandparent for at least a year 
• The child in question and the grandparent had a significant relationship for at least a year

3. The child being legally adopted by someone else may or may not ruin your chances of getting visitation.

In many states, if the child is legally adopted by someone, the grandparents lose their rights to see the child. This is true if your grandchild was legally adopted through a closed adoption. However, in the case of open adoptions, it can be possible to retain some of your rights to be a part of your grandchild's life. 

If your grandchild is at least school age, it is likely you can get your rights to see the child put in as a stipulation to the open adoption. After all, they are old enough to have been around you and have a relationship with you, and they know who you are. Courts recognize that it's not usually in the child's best interests to completely take them away from the biological grandparents when they are adopted as older kids. For more information, contact a family lawyer in your area, like those at Topalian & Associates.