The Best Interest of the Child:
While family law in Phoenix, AZ was amended to implement grandparents’ rights 30 years ago, elderly relatives must still prove their contact is in the “best interest” of the child. To determine the best interest of the child, Arizona parental laws require the Court to consider common-sense factors, such as the quality of the relationship of the child with the parents and grandparents. There are statutory laws for the courts to consider, along with extenuating circumstances that may exist. There may be emergency situations, like parental death, and naturally occurring events such as divorce exceeding three months. These would also be grounds for grandparents to be granted visitation. In some interesting cases, if grandparents can prove that the marriage wasn’t legal or that the child was born out of wedlock, visitation is typically granted quite quickly and easily.
Custody, Adoption and Grandparents Rights
The process for obtaining full custody or the right to adopt is inherently more complex, but can be achieved if the grandparents meet certain requirements. First and foremost, a petition for temporary custody must precede any request for consideration of full custody. If the Court decides to grant temporary custody, grandparents then have the right to petition for full custody. Full custody or adoption can only take place under one of the following four circumstances:

• It is dangerous for the child to remain in parental custody, making the relocation of the child necessary for their own safety
• The parents were never legally married, are getting divorced or separated, or one parent has died or gone missing for more than three months
• No custody decisions were made in the last calendar year (potential harm to the child voids this)
• The grandparent is acting in place of the parent by providing most of their essential care (known as “in loco parentis”)

Grandparents’ Rights in Arizona are unique in that they also extend the same rights to great-grandparents. However, in any state, an outside adoption annuls any and all visitation rights, unless it was awarded to a stepparent. For any questions or concerns about visitation rights with grandchildren, please call an experienced divorce attorney in Phoenix, such as The Simon Law Group. In order to preserve your rights and act in the best interest of your grandchild, you need to be properly educated with experienced professionals acting on your behalf. At Simon Law Group, our attorneys are available to take calls and set up free initial consultations 24 hours a day.]]>