It can be incredibly difficult for grandparents when couples divorce. They may not see their grandchildren as often as they did before, or they may be prevented from seeing them at all.
Our solicitors are often approached by grandparents seeking advice on what they can do to spend more of their precious time with their grandchildren. Unfortunately, grandparents do not have an automatic right to contact with grandchildren, however there are certain steps we can take to help. Family courts recognise the important role that grandparents play in a child’s life and it is incredibly rare that a court would refuse a grandparent access without clear evidence of violence or abuse.
Informally negotiating contact with grandchildren
During separation or divorce, or even where a relationship has broken down between generations, emotions can get in the way of reaching a practical solution. We would always recommend attempting to come to some kind of agreement outside of the courtroom where possible, as this gives you the best chance of preserving a positive relationship with the other parties involved.
If you are unable to agree to contact arrangements with the parents of your grandchild, you may benefit from the assistance of a mediator. Mediation provides the opportunity for all parties to put their point forward with a view to reaching a mutually agreeable solution.
Before you can proceed with court action, you must attempt to resolve the situation with the assistance of an experienced mediator. The mediator will guide you through the process and provide practical support to help structure discussions.
What if mediation is unsuccessful?
If you are not successful in reaching an agreement through mediation, or where contact has broken down completely, you will need to make an application to the court. As discussed earlier, there is no right in law for grandparents to have contact with their grandchildren, you will need the court to make a Contact Order to secure access.
Applying to the court for access to grandchildren
Only those with parental responsibility for a child can apply directly, this includes parents, step-parents or guardians. When a grandparent wishes to apply to the court for a Contact Order, they must first apply for permission to make an application. When making the decision whether to grant leave to make an application for a Contact Order, the courts will take into consideration:
Your connection with the child
The nature of your application for contact with the child
Whether granting the application could be harmful to the child in any way
If after considering your application the court grants you leave, you can apply through the court for a Contact Order. A Contact Order will allow you to gain access to your grandchildren and provide you with a legal basis for contact.
Contact Order hearing
In some cases, one or both parents of the child may raise objections about contact, in which case you may have to attend a full hearing. At a Contact Order hearing, both parties will put forward evidence in relation to whether or not the Contact Order should be granted. At this stage, it is essential to have the advice of an experienced legal team. You will need to convince the court that you have a meaningful, ongoing connection with your grandchild that provides a benefit to their lives.
The court will always consider all the child’s circumstances and must only make an order where they consider it better for the child than making no order at all.
What if parents want to take my grandchild abroad?
We are a team of specialist international family lawyers, and we regularly deal with cases that involve temporary or permanent removal of a child from the UK. This could be in cases where a parent wants to take their child back to their home country but the other parent might not be in agreement and so a court application might become necessary. These circumstances become more complicated for grandparents, because it may be challenging for them to visit a child in another country or to utilise technology to maintain contact. These cases are often sensitive and difficult but we can discuss all options available to you to give you the best possible chance to maintain contact with your grandchild.
Contact our UK Children and Contact Disputes Lawyers in Manchester, London and Birmingham
Our experienced children and contact dispute lawyers are ready to help you make legal arrangements for your grandchildren. We regularly deal with complex cases with an international element. Speak to a member of our specialist family law team today by calling 0330 107 0107.
This article is for general information only and does not constitute legal or professional advice. Please note that the law may have changed since this article was published.
F v F - Acted for a German husband in a complex financial remedy matter. He decided to instruct IMD Solicitors after he had lost trust in his previously instructed solicitors and feared that he would not achieve a favourable outcome from the proceedings. The relevant assets were spread across the globe with some located in the UK (including a multi-million pound business), Gibraltar, Spain, Dubai, and Poland. The overall value of assets exceeded £24 million. The husband had been cut off from the matrimonial assets and excluded from control of the business that had been established by his family. The case involved the instruction of numerous experts, for business valuations, Capital Gains Tax reports, and opinions on the enforcement of orders in foreign jurisdictions, and dealing with several applications, including applications for orders to freeze assets, prevent the disposition of assets, for the joinder of parties, and to litigate conduct issues. The final result exceeded the client’s expectations.
L v L - We were instructed by a mother in a complex international children matter. She was required by orders of the UK courts to return the child to the UK from Poland. She had travelled with the child to Poland but, following unsuccessful application to extend her stay there in August 2017, she decided not to return to the UK because the child disclosed sexual abuse by a member of the paternal family and the father. In September 2018, the Polish court dismissed the father’s Hague Convention application for the child's return on the basis of Article 13(b), a decision which the father appealed. In March 2019, the father applied to the UK High Court for an order for the child’s return pursuant to the procedure set out in Article 11(6) – (8) of the Brussels IIA Regulation. Despite the father's unsuccessful Hague Convention application in Poland, the UK court ordered the return of the child. Article 11 does not allow the court of the returning country much discretion. After all of this, the mother instructed IMD Solicitors to apply to discharge the orders of the UK Court for the return of the child. Even in the face of the fact that most applications to discharge such return orders fail, we succeeded. We are currently awaiting a decision in the UK courts on a further application for the transfer of jurisdiction to the Polish courts where the mother resides with the child.
G v P - We represent a Spanish mother in respect of an urgent application for a Child Arrangements Order and Specific Issue Order in the UK seeking the relocation of the child to Spain. This was after the return of the child to the UK under Hague Convection proceedings which this mother lost in Spain.
She was asking for an order for the relocation of the child back to Spain and an urgent interim Child Arrangements Order to allow her to see the child pending the final outcome of the UK proceedings. IMD successfully argued that, regardless of the return of the child to the UK under the Hague Convention, the mother should be allowed unsupervised overnight contact with the child. We were delighted to be able to secure her contact with the child for Christmas and she said that it was the best Christmas gift she could have wished for. The outcome of the application for the relocation is pending.
S v V - We currently represent the father in Child Arrangements Order proceedings issued by the mother in relation to variation of a UK order made in the face of numerous other international proceedings. He is an Italian National who has been living in France for the last 20 years and the mother is a Lithuanian national. The child is now 11 years old and proceedings concerning the child have been ongoing in various jurisdictions for the majority of the child`s life. Contested divorce proceedings including child arrangements took place in Monaco. The French Court and authorities were also involved, and various proceedings had been ongoing between parties since 2013 in France and Monaco.
The parties’ divorce was pronounced in Monaco. Thereafter, in December 2020, the mother submitted an application to relocate to England with the child, and the relocation took place in June 2021. Upon relocation, the she lodged a child arrangement order application, seeking to register a judgment made in Monaco and to vary the same in respect of the contact arrangements between the father and the child. The father seeks for the child’s return to Monaco.
Due to the parties’ mutual allegations and the associated international elements, various authorities and courts that have been involved in the case, the local authority has become involved with the family and a guardian has been instructed to represent the child in the UK proceedings. At present, these proceedings in England are ongoing and the outcome of the professional reports regarding the family are awaited.
P v P - We have acted for the Respondent Husband in relation to the financial remedy proceedings in the UK. The parties had various assets in the UK and Romania consisting mainly of the portfolio of properties but conduct issues were raised by the Wife due to a business of the Husband over which she had lost control and her allegations of dissipation of assets. The value of assets excluding the business were in a region of £3 million.
K v K - We act in financial remedy proceedings for a wife who is a Polish national. The matter's complexity mainly comes from a dispute between the parties around land in Poland. Its value was initially in dispute but was then assessed by a joint expert to be in the region of half a million pounds. The total assets in this case are estimated to be worth over £1 million. The land in Poland is a subject to contract with a third party and is being leased as a photovoltaic (solar) farm. The division of the land to achieve an equal share of the assets is complicated due to the contract in place and plans for the future use of the land. Currently the parties are awaiting a final hearing but efforts are being made to reach a settlement with the aid of alternative dispute resolution and in order to save the parties money and avoid further delays.
R v O - We acted pro bono and worked together with a law firm in Poland to ensure that the Costa Rican Mother regains access to her child. The Mother's only child was abducted from the UK in 2014. The Mother was successful with the abduction case and the UK family courts ordered the return of the child. The orders were recognised in Poland but unfortunately due to various issues with the Mother's immigration status and court's delays in Poland, the orders were never enforced. The Mother was facing removal from the UK and prospects of never seeing her child again. We have corresponded with various courts in Poland dealing with international abduction matters and we decided that an application for contact should be issued rather than any proceedings for further enforcement of the orders, as the Mother had not seen the child for around 7 years. At the same we secured the Mother's stay in the UK making successful outside of immigration rules application to extend her stay. We now receive regular photos from the Mother with her daughter, as face to face contact is taking place. We helped to secure an order of the Polish courts for the Mother to see the child regularly in person, whilst when she instructed us she was facing a prospect of never seeing her child again and being deported to Costa Rica.
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