When a divorce, separation, or death occurs in an immediate family, members of the family who are outside of that family structure are also affected, including grandparents. Grandparents who find themselves in family circumstances they have no control over may wonder if they’ll still be able to continue seeing their beloved grandchildren. Louisiana law says yes, grandparents have the right to seek reasonable visitation under specific conditions.
Louisiana Statutes Governing Grandparents Visitation Rights
La. R.S. 9.344 defines extreme family upheavals in which grandparents may have the right to reasonable visitations, while La. C.C. 136 encompasses the award of visitation rights in general in the cases of family disintegration.
R.S. 9.344
If specific happenings apply to parents in a marriage or other external situations that produce minor children, the courts may grant reasonable visitation rights to grandparents. For example, if a father or mother of children dies, is incarcerated, or is interdicted, meaning a court has determined that a person is unable to make decisions and communicate those decisions coherently due to a medical disability or impairment, visitation rights for the parents of the affected mother or father is possible. Likewise, if married parents of minor children have lived apart for six months and the court has determined that a parent has been abusing a controlled and dangerous substance or other extraordinary circumstances have occurred, grandparents can seek visitation with the grandchildren produced by this union.
However, even under these conditions, the judge considers the child’s best interests the highest priority regardless of the crises the family may face because of these circumstances. That’s when the judge will consult the Louisiana Civil Code article 136 to finalize visitation rights.
Louisiana Civil Code Article 136
While visitation rights have to be determined for the parent not granted custody or joint custody of the children when parents file for divorce or are not married but living separately, the grandparents can also be included in the visitation order. The grandparents also have a right to seek visitation rights when the parents are cohabitating as married but are not legally tied to one another since Louisiana does not recognize common law marriage. This statute also gives the courts guidelines to follow when determining whether it’s in the child’s best interest to grant visitation rights to grandparents.
Understanding The Differences Between Statues
The circumstances described in La. R.S. 9.344 are the most extreme situations which can happen to a family. Allowing grandparents to have reasonable visitation rights under these occurrences may provide additional support to mitigate further damage to the family and the children. However, the judge must determine by the factors defined in La. C.C. 136(D) that it is in the child’s best interest to do so.
The sets of conditions set forth by La. C.C. 136 do not require family crisis management as the conditions in La. R.S. 9.344 may need. However, it may be necessary for grandparent visitations to soothe any further disruptions the children may experience when confronted with these circumstances, but, again, only if it will support the child’s best interest.
How Does Adoption Affect Grandparents’ Visitation Rights
Louisiana’s Children’s Code Article 1264 gives grandparents limited visitation rights when there has been a forfeiture of the right to object to an adoption by a parent or when a parent dies and the child was subsequently adopted.
Choose Louisiana Family Law Firm: Family Law Services In East Baton Rouge Parish and other Parish Throughout Louisiana
The Louisiana Family Law Firm understand it can be scary for a grandparent not to know if you’ll be able to see your much-loved grandchildren after a destructive family event like death or divorce. You may think you’re powerless to continue seeing your grandchildren, but let us assure you, you’re not. If you’re a grandparent in the middle of family chaos and worried that you’ll never see your grandchildren again, contact us to help guide you through the process of seeking and obtaining visitation rights.
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