Within family law, many often wonder about grandparents visitation rights in Western Australia and other states. In Australian family law, according to the Family Law Act (1975), grandparents have visitations rights in Western Australia and other states as well.
In this blog, we’ll explore what the legislation says in this regard. It is very important to discuss their rights as they play a significant role in the child’s life. They have an impact on the overall well-being, and personal care, welfare and development of the child. Therefore, divorced or separated parents must ensure that the grandparents still have access to their grandchildren.
However, depending on the dynamics of the family, it may not always be this straightforward or simple. Some parents may wish to keep the grandchildren away from the grandparents. If the divorced parties have had a hostile relationship with their parents or in-laws, they may try to sabotage the relationship between the grandchildren and grandparents.
In such complex situations, what can grandparents do? Fortunately, because Australian family law recognises the importance of grandparents in the lives of the children, they provide certain avenues for grandparents. Read on to find out more about grandparents visitation rights in Western Australia.
Grandparents Visitation Rights Western Australia: Scenario 1
In this scenario, we consider an example of a divorced couple – Kit and Nina. Kit and Nina are based in WA and they have two children. The child’s mother and father, i.e. Nina and Kit have shared a healthy relationship with their parents. The grandparents would often visit the two children.
The children would also spend a considerable amount of time at the grandparents house on weekends and holidays. After Kit and Nina separated, they considered making Parenting Plans to chalk out custody and visitation arrangements.
In these parenting plans, they decide to include grandparents visitation rights in Western Australia by noting down specific visitation and custody schedules for them to follow.
Can Grandparents Apply For A Parenting Order: Scenario 2
For this example, we consider two parties namely Harry and Tammy. They have recently divorced and they have not had an amicable separation. Moreover, neither of them have shared a healthy relationship with their parents.
While the grandparents would meet the children occasionally, Tammy and Harry never went out of the way to allow the grandparents to spend substantial time with their grandchildren. Now that Tammy and Harry have divorced, they have made parenting plans allotting visitation times to themselves. However, they have not considered the grandparents at all.
In such a situation, grandparents can proceed to the family court and make an order for parenting orders. For grandparents visitations rights in Western Australia, they can apply for parenting orders at the family court. The court will then consider the best interests of the child and make binding orders accordingly.
If the court finds that the grandparents or other extended family members indeed add to the interests of the child, it will grant visitation rights to the grandparents. The parents will be required to follow the court order. If they fail to comply, they can be held for contempt of court. Moreover, if family or domestic violence is involved, grandparents can also apply for grandparent parental responsibility.
How Can Family Lawyers Help Grandparents With Visitation Rights Western Australia?
Grandparents who are not able to have access to grandchildren can contact family lawyers who can help them with their matter. As grandparents, there is some information that you can be ready with when you go to visit a family lawyer. This includes information such as the:
- Nature of relationship between you and the grandchildren,
- What you think is their best interests,
- When you last saw them,
- Amount of time you have spent with them throughout their lives,
- Possibility of any risk factors if they spend time with, or live with their parents
- Existing custody or visitation arrangements that are in place
- Any other information that is relevant to your individual case
Mediation and Family Dispute Resolution
At JB Solicitors, we offer alternative dispute resolution methods for parties who are not able to reach settlements by themselves. These FDR methods aid parties to make mutual agreements. We also offer fixed-fee prices for some of our services. You can view our fixed-fee prices here.
Mediation can help grandparents and separated or divorced parents to have an open and amicable discussion about the visitation arrangements. Mediators help to create an environment where all parties can have a health discussion about the conflicts and disputes.
If you have enquiries or wish to learn more about grandparents visitation rights in Western Australia, do not hesitate to contact our team of solicitors today.
