Legal Question in Family Law in Mississippi
Grandparent Rights Of Deceased Son's Daughter
My son has been deceased for nine years. He had a daughter that was just a baby when he died. He was our only son, this grandchild is all we have left of our son. We have had an established, close relationship with our granddaughter since 1994,when she was first born. Our granddaughter's mother has had two other children, by two other fathers since then and has recently gotten married and decided that she wants to take our granddaughter out of our lives for good. We have been very patient and done a lot for the mother over the years. We do not want a court battle but we will do whatever it takes to keep our grandchild in our lives. We feel we should have some kind of visitation rights. What kind of rights do we have...if any?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Grandparent Rights Of Deceased Son's Daughter
As grandparents, you have limited visitation rights under certain circumstances. This includes when you are denied access to your granddaughter. With the continually changing family dynamic (new husband, etc.), you need to make efforts to solidfy your visitation rights. An attorney is required to file a petition and get an order granting you formal, regular visitation. The attorney you seek and hire should be proficient in family law. We wish you the best.
Re: Grandparent Rights Of Deceased Son's Daughter
Miss Code Section 93-16-5 states in part:
[If the court] finds that such visitation rights would be in the best interest of the child, grant to a grandparent reasonable visitation rights with the child. Whenever visitation rights are granted to a grandparent, the court may issue such orders as shall be necessary to enforce such rights and may modify or terminate such visitation rights for cause at any time.
I believe you have the same rights as your son. The best course of action is to propose a visitation schedule, including arrangements for sharing the costs of transportation incident to visitation. I would suggest that you get a family counselor involved to mediate the situation. If that doesn't result in complete agreement, then resolve any remaining issue in court.
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