Legal Question in Family Law in Minnesota

grandparents visition rights

My son and his wife have been separated for quite some time, As the grandmother of their child, our daughter in law is not letting us see our grandson, We was the bots primary care taker for 20 months and she moved away about 5 months ago, and was letting us see him for a week at a time for 2 months after she moved now she will not let us see him at all. Both my son and her are on the waiting list with legal aid to get divorced. In the mean time I am not being able to see my grandson because the law states that I have no right to seek visition till there is a divorce filed. With the waiting list up to a year long, it could be a long time till I see my grandson. Where can I go to seek information about having this law changed? It seems totally unfair to me and my grandson to not beable to see each other. I have spoke with a attorney and he states that if we file with the court a visitation order it would be thrown out of court because the way the law is wrote. Do we have any options? Thank you for your time and consideration on this matter.


Asked on 1/11/99, 5:24 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Shaun Jamison

Re: grandparents visition rights

If I understood your facts well enough, the grandchild lived with you for 20 months. The lawyer you met with should have looked at Minnesota Statute Sec. 257.022 Subd 2a which allows grandparents to sue for visitation rights when the child resided with them for 12 months or more. You must also prove visitation is in the best interests of the child and will not interfere in the parent/child relationship. You can find Minnesota Statutes from my website at http://firms.findlaw.com/sjamison in the links section.

This response is general information which is based on the facts as understood from the posting. Many factors can affect the outcome of a legal case and thus an interview with a competant attorney is needed.

Shaun Jamison

Shaun G. Jamison Attorney at Law

5637 Brooklyn Blvd. Ste 200


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Answered on 1/27/99, 4:06 pm


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