Are there grandparents rights in the state of Va?

Question

My son is going into the military. Anyway, he has a son that we don't get to see very often because we don't see eye to eye with his mother. She has never let us see much of the baby and our son always went along with her except every now and then when she was working, he would let us see him. To make a long story short, they have split up and he will be leaving soon. He has told her he wants his family to see the baby while he is gone and he will be sending her money for the baby. If she still gives us a hard time about seeing the baby, is there anything we can do about it?

Answer 1

with children, in every state I know of, no one has rights but the legal guardians. It is not clear from your story whether your son has ceded guardianship.

The only thing you can do is have him threaten to stop sending money or get her declared an unfit parent. If he stops sending money, she can go to court for child support and the military will dock his pay. If you get her declared an unfit parent, which is really hard, you would have to take custody of the child.

Parents have very extensive rights. A court is not going to force a mother to allow people who are not the father to interact with her child. As grandparents, you have no responsibility to the child and therefore have no corresponding right to see the child.

I would recommend that you do your best to get along with her. Although your son may be able to request, because he is a legal guardian, that the child see you, there is very little chance of success with this and it would severely damage all the relationships involved. For your grandchild, it would be healthiest to try to develop a positive relationship with everyone in his or her family. That includes his mother as well as you.