Long Island Grandparents' Rights Attorney

The relationship between a child and grandparent is special and one that should be protected. If you are a grandparent seeking visitation or even custody rights in the Long Island area, an attorney at The Kepanis Law Firm can talk to you about your legal options in this matter. A grandparent may be a source of stability for a child and may contribute to a child's emotional wellbeing, and taking away a grandparent's ability to visit his or her grandchildren can have a negative impact on the child. A Long Island divorce attorney can work to prove this in court to assist you in remaining in close contact with your grandchild.

There are different circumstances that may lead to a grandparent wanting to seek visitation or custody rights. After a married couple gets a divorce, the resulting custody arrangement may hinder or eliminate entirely the grandparent's ability to see his or her grandchildren. There may also be a situation where a child has lived with a grandparent for a period of time due to financial difficulties, drug or alcohol abuse, imprisonment or other situations where the parent was unfit to care for the child, and now the parent is seeking to prevent the grandparent from being involved in the child's life.

Protecting Grandparental Rights in Long Island

At this time, grandparents do not have "automatic" rights to visitation or custody of their grandchildren. However, Long Island courts will look at what is in the best interests of the child or children involved, including the positive influence that regular visitation with a grandparent may have. In building a grandparents' rights case, your attorney will need to fully establish and prove, in the eyes of the law, the importance of the relationship that you have with your grandchild, and the fact that this should be protected.