Contact with children

[peaweesnana]

My son and his wife used to live near her parents. After a series of really bad arguments which resulted in my son and his wife being threatened by her parents, they moved house. They began receiving some very vile and threatening text messages from her mother, (almost 50 in total) so bad my daughter in law felt she had no option but to seek help from the police. Her mother was given a written warning from the police and the text messages stopped. Her mother is now seeking contact with the children who are aged 5 and 2. Bearing in mind the above and the fact that since my son's eldest was born, his wife's parents have only seen the children maybe 10/12 times, do her parents have this right. My daughter in law is absolutely distraught that she may have to allow her mother contact. Where does she stand?

[MarkRae]

Grandparents have no legal right to contact with their grandchildren.

[woofgang]

Grandparents do not have an automatic right to access to grandchildren and have to apply to the court for leave to apply for a contact order.

http://www.family-law...ndparents-rights.aspx

" In order to be successful the grandparent must show that they have a meaningful and important connection with the child."

[maggiebee]

Agree with both MR and woolfgang, grandparents have no legal rights. In view of past behaviour, doubt if any court would grant contact rights.

[MarkRae]

Furthermore, I'd suggest that if the grandparents did try to gain contact with their grandchildren against the wishes of the parents and the parents subsequently applied for a restraining order against them, it would be almost certainly granted.

[peaweesnana]

Thanks so much for your advice. I didn't think they would be able to get contact because of their recent behaviour but its comforting to have that confirmed. I will pass that on to my son and his wife. My daughter in law's mother has been to see a solicitor who has written to my son threatening court action should the contact be refused. It is clear however from the letter that my daughter in law's mother has been less than honest with the solicitor. She has told them that until recently she had extensive contact with the children, and that is a totally confounded lie. My son and his wife will have to answer the letter and have an appointment with a solicitor next week.

[tonywiltshire]

Mark and others are quite correct in saying that grandparents do not have an automatic right to a contact order, the parents can make it clear politely in writing to the grandparents that they do not wish them to have contact with their children. Then leave it up to the grandparents to apply to the court for a contact order if they wish to see their grandchildren, it will be up to the parents to satisfy the judge that such contact would be harmful to the children whose welfare will be the courts major concern.

[boxtops]

I'd suggest your son contacts his own solicitor to send a solicitor-to-solicitor reply to that letter, peawee.

[peaweesnana]

Boxtops - we are in agreement, my son and his wife have an appointment with their own solicitor this week.