Clayton and St. Louis Area Grandparent Custody Rights Lawyers
What Custody and Visitation Rights Do Grandparents Have in Missouri?
In what circumstances do grandparents have custody rights in Missouri? Can a parent ever take custody away from a grandparent? When do grandparents have visitation rights under Missouri's family laws?
The issue of grandparent custody rights is a fast-developing area of the law. Unlike some other states, Missouri has specific laws that specify when a grandparent may have custody rights or visitation rights. At the Clayton law office of Jody Wolff & Associates, we have focused our law practice almost exclusively on family law since 1990. Over the past 20 years, we have watched closely as the law regarding grandparent custody rights has changed. If you have questions about your custody rights as a grandparent, contact our St. Louis law firm to talk over your situation with an experienced child custody lawyer.
What Are Grandparent Custody Rights in Missouri?
If a child's parents obtain a divorce or legal separation, a grandparent may be able to get custody of any minor children. The grandparent must present evidence that:
- Both parents are unfit, unable or unsuitable to have custody
- Custody for the grandparent is in the best interests of the child
- The grandparent is a suitable custodian and can give the child a stable and adequate home
A child's natural parent can always file a petition to regain custody from a grandparent by proving that the circumstances that made the parent unfit no longer exist.
A grandparent may also obtain custody rights if the child is placed in foster care due to allegations of abuse or neglect against the parent or parents. The Department of Child and Family Services prefers to place children with relatives, and grandparents retain the status of relative even if the parent related to the grandparent dies or gets a divorce.
What Are Grandparent Visitation Rights in Missouri?
Missouri law allows grandparents to formally seek visitation rights in three specific circumstances:
- The child's parents are getting a divorce or have gotten divorced, in which case the grandparent can intervene in the divorce action or file a petition to modify the divorce decree to add grandparent visitation rights
- One parent dies and the surviving parent denies reasonable visitation to a grandparent who is a parent of the deceased parent of the child in question
- The child lived with the grandparent for six months during the previous two years and now the parents have unreasonably denied the grandparent visitation rights for more than 90 days
The last type of visitation scenario is not an option if the child's parents are legally married to each other and are living together with the child. In other words, the visitation decisions of married spouses with a child win out over a family court judge's opinions.
If you have questions about grandparent custody rights in Missouri, or wish to seek an order granting you reasonable visitation with your grandchild, contact our St. Louis custody attorneys today for a consultation.
Jody Wolff & Associates
7710 Carondelet Avenue, Suite 105
Clayton, MO 63105-3319
Phone: 314-862-0505 ▪ Fax: 314-862-3005 ▪ Email
Jody Wolff & Associates, proudly serves the following communities Clayton, St. Louis, St. Charles, Town & Country, Ladue, Olivette, Creve Couer, Kirkwood, Webster Groves, Wildwood, Chesterfield, Ballwin, Manchester, St. Peters, Richmond Heights, Rock Hill, Florissant, Ferguson, Hazelwood, Bridgeton, Maryland Heights including St. Louis County and St. Charles County, Missouri.
