OGDEN & SALT LAKE CITY FAMILY LAW ATTORNEY
Visitation for Grandparents
Under Utah law, grandparents do have visitation rights. However, grandparents rights are secondary to parental rights. Grandparent visitation rights are a complicated area of the law as Utah’s appellate courts have multiple requirements and filing procedures. Many grandparents feel their rights are not protected when it comes to filing for custody of their grandchildren. At Ammon Nelson Law, PLLC, we focus on protecting your grandparent rights and helping to set your grandchildren up with a safe, secure future.
Acquiring Visitation in Utah
There are four ways grandparents can petition the court for visitation or custody:
- Guardianship
- Juvenile Court Abuse, Neglect, Dependency Proceedings
- Grandparent visitation lawsuit
- Custody for persons other than parent lawsuit
Ready to get started? For sound legal counsel contact our Ogden Family Law Office at (801) 337-4355.
The Best Interest of the Child
Utah focuses on providing visitation and custody agreements based on the best interest of the child. What this means is the court will need to see one or more of the following circumstances present in order to provide grandparent custody or visitation:
- A change of circumstance has occurred and the current visitation no longer meets current needs of the grandchild, grandparent or parent or the guardian.
- There is question related to current visitation rights of the parents and they may no longer be fit to care for their child.
- The grandparent has acted as a custodian and the child has a relationship with the grandparent that could cause harm to the child if the relationship were to be altered.
- The parent has died.
- One or both parents are no longer considered the custodial parent due to a divorce or legal separation.
- The parents have gone missing for several days, weeks or months, leaving the child in full-time care of their grandparents.
Why choose Ammon Nelson Law, PLLC?
- We have over a decade of family law experience.
- Nominated and awarded “New Parental Defender of the Year” in 2018
- We are in Good Standing at Avvo
- We have a 5 Star Rating on Google
- We are devoted and compassionate legal advocates.
- Wrote “Utah Guide to Divorce”
For your Ogden or Salt Lake City family law needs, contact us today and schedule a consultation