Long Island Grandparents' Rights Lawyers Serving Nassau & Suffolk Counties

Protecting the custody and visitation rights of seniors in New York families

Many empty-nesters relish the time they spend with their grandchildren, who in turn benefit from the love and attention that grandparents provide. Divorce can interrupt that bond, especially when the custodial parent is not the grandparent’s own child. New York recognizes that in many circumstances, grandparents are entitled to visitation with, and even custody of, their grandchildren. The experienced attorneys at Bryan L. Salamone & Associates, P.C. are skilled at protecting grandparents’ rights.

What are the visitation rights of grandparents?

Grandparents may be entitled to court-ordered visitation with their biological or adoptive grandchildren in any of the following circumstances:

  • They have an existing and substantial relationship with the grandchildren
  • The grandchildren’s custodial parents interfere with their right to create or maintain such a relationship
  • One or both of the grandchildren’s parents die

Your rights as a biological grandparent do not cease if your grandchild is adopted by another family. However, grandparents have the burden of proving the legal basis for their claim.

If you believe you are entitled to visitation with your grandchildren and need an order to enforce your rights, we are ready to advocate aggressively on your behalf.

What are the custody rights of grandparents?

Your right to obtain custody of your grandchildren is more limited than your visitation rights. New York law permits you to obtain custody only if the parents abandon or severely neglect a grandchild and you can prove that granting custody to you is in the grandchild’s best interests. If you fear that one or more of your grandchildren are in such dire circumstances and you wish to seek custody, we are ready to fight for your rights with the urgency the situation demands.

What happens when the grandparent doesn’t have a relationship with the grandchild?

It will be difficult to convince a court that you should have visitation or custody if you’ve never had a close relationship with your grandchild. Nevertheless, visitation may be granted if you can prove that the grandchildren’s parents prevented you from establishing the relationship you lack. Custody may be obtainable if one or both parents die and you are ready to assume responsibility for your grandchild. If either situation applies, we will do whatever we can to obtain the court order you seek.

How do the best interests of the child affect grandparents’ rights cases?

“Best interests of the child” is the benchmark for deciding any custody or visitation request. Factors the court will consider in grandparents’ rights cases include:

  • Your relationship with the grandchild and their parents, past and present
  • The child’s age and a sufficiently mature child’s preferences
  • The mental and physical health of you, your grandchild and the grandchild’s parents
  • Your nurturing skills and your attitude toward the parents
  • The distance the grandchild must travel from their home to visit with you

As part of our representation of grandparents, we present the strongest case we can that ruling in favor of visitation or custody will satisfy the best-interests standard.

Retain a law firm with the experience and capacity to protect grandparents’ rights

We are well-known for aggressive representation in even the toughest child custody and visitation cases, and our representation of grandparents is no different. Contact Bryan L. Salamone & Associates, P.C. online for a free initial consultation with our skilled custody and visitation attorneys. If your case is urgent, do not email. Call us immediately at 1.631.479.3839.