Around 9000 couples divorced in Scotland last year (2016). It’s a sobering statistic and one that is unlikely to change anytime soon. Grandparents have no automatic legal right to see their grandchildren and need to make an application to Court for a contact order. Unfortunately, there are no plans to amend the existing legislation, which does not include any presumption of visitation rights and makes the best interests of the child the priority. The Government did produce a Charter for Grandchildren which emphasises the valuable role played by grandparents but stopped short of granting any automatic rights.
And this situation is set against another modern development – the increasing reliance on grandparents to provide childcare. Many families rely on grandparents for childcare – saving billions of pounds a year. The role of grandparents in modern society has increased, in part due to the often prohibitive costs of child care. Grandparents may have once played more of a part in raising families when they may all have lived together under one roof, but in recent years that has not been the case.
Losing contact is a difficult situation which is, sadly, one faced by many grandparents every year. People who have helped care for their grandchildren, and who have also often helped support them financially, can suddenly find themselves in danger of losing all contact. The grandchild who may have had a close relationship with their grandparent can be cut off from them often with no explanation which can be confusing and distressing.
If there is a breakdown in the relationship between the grandparent and son/daughter-in-law, the grandparent should make an application to the court for parental rights and responsibilities relating to contact arrangements. The court then has to be satisfied that the Order should be granted with the child's best interests in mind.
It is vital that anyone faced with this heart-breaking situation gets proper, qualified advice to avoid making what can be a traumatic situation even worse and try and resolve things in the best way possible for all involved.
