There are two different reasons that grandparents request our assistance. In the first case, sometimes when a parent dies, that parent’s parents are being denied visitation with their grandchildren by their former son or daughter-in-law. There could also be instances where there is such estrangement between grandparents and their own adult child that they are not being permitted contact with their grandchildren. Unfortunately, the law cannot help you. Florida once had a statute that provided for grandparent visitation, but the statute was declared unconstitutional by the Florida Supreme Court, who held that the statute violated parents’ rights to decide what is in the best interest of their own children.
On the other hand, grandparents are all too often these days called upon to raise their grandchildren. In some of these cases, it may be advisable or even necessary for the Grandparent to obtain legal guardianship status on a temporary basis. This is relatively easily accomplished in Dependency Court.