There are a few factors that the judges in South Carolina Family Courts may take into consideration in determining grandparent visitation rights. South Carolina families may be interested to know that in some instances, how a parent handles grandparent visitation – prior to and in the absence of an order from the court – can have an impact on whether the judge making child custody decisions in a SC divorce case perceives granting joint custody to each of the parents to be in the child’s best interest. Family Courts are bound to base decisions regarding child custody and visitation rights on their determination of what is in each child’s best interest. A parent who repeatedly and capriciously denies their child the opportunity to build relationships with extended family members may sometimes raise questions about whether their continued custody is in their child’s best interest. To learn more about exercising your rights as a grandparent – or to seek assistance if you have been falsely painted as an unreasonable parent by another party – consider scheduling a consultation with one of the experienced South Carolina divorce attorneys at King Law Offices. Call 888-748-KING today to get started.
Which States Have Grandparent Rights?
While a parent’s right to see and spend time with, and their corresponding responsibility to nurture and care for, their child is generally recognized throughout the United States, the scope of legally protected grandparents’ rights regarding their children’s children can vary widely between different states, as can the means by which such rights are asserted and enforced. Some states provide relatively little framework for family members other than a child’s biological parents to be legally involved in their upbringing and overall care, especially if both of a child’s biological parents are living.
Other states put a greater emphasis on – or at least provide more legal tools for managing – the larger kinship networks in which nuclear families are formed, operate, and occasionally dissolve. South Carolina does provide some avenues through which non-parent family members can assist in a child’s upbringing, but many of these apply primarily in cases where both of a child’s biological parents are unavailable, whether through untimely death or through personal struggles that raise serious doubts for the court about their fitness as parents.
What Are Grandparent Rights?
Probably the type of grandparent right about which the greatest number of families have the most pressing questions is grandparent visitation rights, in large part because, where acknowledged, these rights can have an impact on the pacing and structure of family time and even in some cases may affect how divorced parents manage their child custody schedules. However, overriding the wishes of either parent in a quest to see your grandchildren can be difficult – in part because, according to the South Carolina Bar Association (SCBA), under the prevailing legal theory in South Carolina a grandparent’s rights are derived from their own child’s parental rights. Often this means that grandparent visitation rights are a function of, and contingent upon, parental custody and visitation rights, and the grandparent-grandchild relationship is continued and furthered primarily when the parent who sits between the two generations has custody, whether that is most of the time, some of the time, or hardly any of the time.
Do Grandparents Have Rights To See Their Grandchildren in South Carolina?
The judges in South Carolina’s family courts usually operate on the presumption that parents have the right to determine how and with whom their children will spend time, absent compelling evidence to the contrary. Generally speaking, therefore, a South Carolina judge is unlikely to override the wishes of a living parent except in truly extraordinary circumstances. That said, the South Carolina Children’s Code does explicitly place grandparent visitation rights under the jurisdiction of the state’s Family Courts, as well as establishing, under Article 5 of the South Carolina Children’s Code, conditions under which those courts may order visitation for grandparents.
Considerations for Granting Grandparent Visitation Rights
A South Carolina family judge may grant visitation rights if the court finds that the child’s parents or legal guardian(s) have been “unreasonably depriving” the grandparents of time with the child, if certain other circumstances are also present. An important factor used in determining whether a grandparent is being “unreasonably deprived” of time with a child is whether the child’s parents have not allowed him or her to visit with the grandparents in more than 90 days.
Assuming that the grandparent has not visited with the child in longer than 90 days, then the next consideration a South Carolina judge is likely to review is whether awarding grandparent visitation rights would pose a risk of interfering with the relationship between the child and either or both of the parents. If the court finds that the grandparent has been unreasonably deprived of time with the child, and also finds that an award of visitation rights to the grandparent would not interfere with the relationship between parent and child, then the judge may order grandparent visitation rights in either of the following situations:
- If the court is persuaded, through “clear and convincing evidence,” that the family circumstances warrant overriding the usual presumption that the parents’ wishes will be in the child’s best interest
- If the court finds, also by examination of “clear and convincing evidence,” that the child’s parents, or the child’s legal guardian or guardians, may be unfit
For understandable reasons, the judges in the South Carolina Family Courts are reluctant to overrule parents’ wishes in regard to their own children and the people with whom those children are allowed or encouraged to spend time. Understanding a family’s dynamics can be difficult at the best of times, and when a particularly fraught custody case arises or questions about the parents’ fitness are brought into play, the judge may elect to appoint a guardian ad litem on the court’s own motion, to conduct a thorough inquiry into the child’s circumstances and prepare an unbiased report for the court to consider in evaluating the case. An experienced South Carolina family law attorney may be able to help you learn more in a personalized consultation.
Speak With an Experienced South Carolina Child Custody and Visitation Lawyer
If you are missing out on precious time with your grandchild, you likely have many questions about your rights as a grandparent. An experienced child custody attorney with King Law Offices may be able to help you review the facts of your situation and evaluate your legal options for seeking grandparent visitation rights. Call our office today at 888-748-KING to schedule a consultation with a member of our understanding and committed legal team.