Posted by DivorceLine in The high divorce rate in the United Kingdom means that family law is rarely out of the media or the day to day lives of ourselves or somebody close to us. It also means that child custody following divorces is an increasingly contentious problem.
Following a divorce, a set of parents will have the custody arrangements for their child or kids arranged via the courts if they can’t reach an agreement. Family law recognizes the child’s right to have contact with both parents and the parents’ right to have contact with their kids, so apart from in instances of abuse both parents will usually be legally entitled to see their child.
For grandparents though, this is not necessarily the case. In reality, the grandparents at current have no legal right to access to their grandchildren. This means that at the moment the majority of grandparents are reliant on the goodwill of the parent who lives with the child or kids, or has to ‘piggy-back’ off the access their child receives if they are the non-resident parent.
This grey region of family law raises an fascinating point. What location do grandparents have in a child’s life? The answer is an increasingly vital 1. Changing social trends have meant that now that far more parents than ever work, around a third of British families are reliant on grandparents for childcare. This figure is even higher amongst single parent families.
When grandparents play such a significant role in the day to day care of their grandchildren, is it right that they really should be given no formal, legal recognition in child custody instances. Analysis from several fathers’ and grandparents’ organizations has suggested that over forty per cent of grandparents lose contact entirely with their grandchildren when their parents separate. Even though there are also some instances where grandparents are included in custody agreements, for example playing a supervisory role in visits between a child and an abusive or violent parent.
Presently, grandparents are still obliged to apply to the courts for permission to apply for access to their grandchildren. Increasingly, on the other hand, grandparents are receiving far more legal recognition for their aid and assist in the child’s upbringing, meaning that a variety of are calling for a change in the law.
As far more and far more parents rely no grandparents for every day childcare, much more and much more emphasis is placed on the bond between grandparents and kids and campaigners hope the law will soon accommodate grandparents a lot more fairly.
