Grandparents’ Visitation Rights
Do grandparents have visitation rights in Oklahoma? I’m Oklahoma attorney Lindsay McDowell with Wirth Law Office. Grandparents are not required to have visitation rights in Oklahoma. The court considers three factors in determining whether or not grandparents have a right to visitation to their grandchildren.
First, is there an intact nuclear family? Second, would it be in the best interest of the child to have those visitation rights? And finally, if the parents are unfit or if the child would suffer harm if they were not able to have these visitation rights with their grandparents.
Factors Considered by the Court
First, what is an intact nuclear family? In Oklahoma, a nuclear family is viewed as a family where a mother and a father or both parents present at birth are married. Now, there are many reasons that could affect this to disrupt the nuclear family. First, it could be a divorce, a separation, or an annulment. Also, there could be the death of a parent. If a parent is convicted of a felony and incarcerated, that is viewed as disrupting the nuclear family. Maybe the parents were never married. It’s also possible that the child could be taken from the family and placed in some other care. That also disrupts the nuclear family.
Oftentimes, the court will also look to see if the grandparents had a pre-existing and continuous relationship with their grandchild. There are many other considerations for the court in determining grandparents’ rights, and I’d be happy to discuss those with you.
Contact Us for a Free Consultation
You can contact me at pryorattorney.com or (918) 932-2862. I’m Pryor grandparents’ rights lawyer, Lindsay McDowell.