Steven Wade is a family law advisor (McKenzie Friend) with nearly 20 years of experience helping people represent themselves in court. Having been through the system personally and supported thousands of others since, he knows what it’s like to face the stress, confusion, and pressure of doing it alone. This blog shares practical insights that empower you to take control of your case — without the legal jargon or the hefty solicitor’s bill.
How do grandparents rights work?
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How do grandparents rights work?
- Introduction
- What rights do grandparents (and other family members) have?
- So how does the court make a decision if no one has rights?
- What can you do if a child isn’t seeing their grandparent?
- Will I get permission to make an application?
- More than contact – Special Guardianship Orders
- Conclusion
- Resources
Introduction
Parental separation affects children and parents. But it doesn’t just stop there, but many people assume it does.
Aside from Mum and Dad children often have aunts, uncles, cousins, siblings and grandparents too. There can be a huge number of relatives who see a child as an integral part of the family and their absence will be felt. While sometimes there is a good reason while a child shouldn’t see a parent – there is often a huge cast of others out there and it’s a little extreme to cut out 50% of a child’s family in one, easy stroke, particularly if they were involved in a child’s life.
A child is probably unsettled enough to not be seeing one parent every day and/or moving homes – factor in not being able to see much loved grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, etc. and it can make a difficult situation much, much more challenging. In an ideal work grandparents can often work together to bridge the gap between arguing parents too as they’re one step removed from a painful, emotional situation for Mum and Dad.
It’s a common belief that no one – other than parents – can do anything if parents split up. If Mum and/or Dad is estranged from the family, there’s nothing anyone can do, right?
Except it isn’t as simple as that. You’d expect no less from a legal-based blog, yes? But…there are several options open to grandparents if they believe it is in the best interests of their grandchildren to have a relationship with them and other family members.
This blog will go into this topic, so read on!
What rights do grandparents (and other family members) have?
Ok, so first we need to back up and make something clear.
Grandparents don’t have any rights.
Nor do any other relations – and that includes parents too!
Children are the only ones who have rights here. The family law court uses the Children Act to decide what needs to happen when parents (or others) can’t come to agreement on this.
So how does the court make a decision if no one has rights?
It’s all about the best interests of the child. That’s it.
It sounds simple. Most people would agree on this. The devil is in the detail however – different people will have different ideas about what that actually means. This difference can be small (such as what time the handover should be) all the way to big things that involve the child’s name, which country they live in and whether they should see a parent at all.
And infuriatingly enough…there is no legal definition of this. The more cynical would say it is `whatever you convince the judge that is’ which isn’t particularly helpful.
The very first part of the Children Act says this…
Part I
Introductory
1 Welfare of the child.
(1)When a court determines any question with respect to—
(a)the upbringing of a child; or
(b)the administration of a child’s property or the application of any income arising from it,
the child’s welfare shall be the court’s paramount consideration.
The last line (in bold) is the key here: The child’s welfare shall be the court’s paramount consideration.
In other words – if it isn’t in the child’s best interests, it isn’t the court’s concern.
This means the following isn’t going to be a factor when the court makes a decision:
- What you think is fair. Although in an ideal world the court does want you feeling you’ve been heard even if you don’t like the outcome.
- What your child wants. Well it IS a factor, but there are 6 others in the Welfare Checklist!
- What YOU want. If the court decides that it is something that would harm your child.
- What your ex or anyone else has done/not done. Unless it affects your child.
- You’ve made a few understandable mistakes or have a few problems. Again, unless it affects your child. The court understands that people aren’t perfect and if you’re demonstrating you’re taking responsibility for things and dealing with them it’ll go a long, long way.
All of the above though? The court does want to come up with something that everyone thinks is fair, what your child wants, what you want, for you to feel heard AND address all issues that are raised in court. But it can be tricky and often courts are coming up with a `least worst’ outcome which – if nothing else can be done – means putting the child first and taking it from there.
I wouldn’t want to be a judge!
What can you do if a child isn’t seeing their grandparent?
The answer is `the same as a parent needs to do if a child isn’t seeing them’.
I’m not being particularly facetious here.
The process a grandparent (or aunt, uncle, cousin, etc.) faces is pretty much identical to that a parent whose child isn’t permitted to spend time with them has to go through.
Family members of a child don’t automatically have Parental Responsibility (PR) for them. Mothers get PR automatically. Fathers who are married to the mother at birth get it automatically too, as do fathers who are named on the child’s birth certificate. If a parent wants an order for contact, specific issues order. prohibited steps order, etc. they need to complete a C100 form (also known as a `Section 8′ application).
If you are a grandparent or other family member who wants to make an application for a child, this is the form to complete.
The fee is (as of November 2023) £232.
But there is an additional form to complete. This is a C2 form.
There is no fee for this and you send it in, alongside the C100 form. This form is to `Ask for permission to start proceedings, or to request an order or directions in existing proceedings, or to ask to join or leave proceedings’.
Because you don’t have PR you have no legal right to automatically make an application for a child and this form is the hoop to jump through for that to happen. The C2 form is to get that permission. I’ll deal with that in the next section!
Bear in mind however that before you do this you need to attend a MIAM (even if you are pretty sure it’s going nowhere).
Will I get permission to make an application?
The court believes a child is (all other things being equal) best served by having a meaningful relationship with not only their parents but also their wider family – which includes grandparents, cousins, aunts, uncles and others.
There’s usually a good chance that permission will be granted so don’t be too worried at this stage.
If you had a constant, strong relationship with a child prior to parental separation it’ll most definitely be a factor – imposing change on a child such as suddenly preventing them having a relationship with a mum love grandmother, etc. will likely not be seen as in their best interests. Similarly grandparents and other family members are seen as a direct link to a child’s family, culture, religion and heritage (particularly if members of the family are of mixed origins).
This scenario is more favourable than, say, a grandparent who has had the chance for involvement in a child’s life but has waited 13 years for it to happen before making an application.
Regardless of this however? Courts will likely be positive about the involvement of grandparents in most situation.
More than contact – Special Guardianship Orders
There is another option however: Special Guardianship Orders (SGOs).
They’ve become increasingly common over the years. Often they’re an alternative to placing a child into foster care. There’s a great rationale for this. When both parent’s homes are deemed unsuitable for a child, arrangements to live with another family number can be very attractive.
From the stand point of social services (and they are often involved in situations where SGOs) it means a child becomes the responsibility of the person who has this order and they take the roles and functions of a parent. They will still need to get the consent of other holders of PR for the children (usually they’re parents) unless the court has made otherwise.
This is kind of the `nuclear option’ however and is pretty extreme. It can cause a great deal of hostility between family members and usually lasts until the children adults. To achieve this in court will be more challenging than an application for contact, more drawn out and quite possibly more costly too.
You make this application if:
- You’re already the child’s legal guardian
- The child lives with you because of a child arrangements order
- The child has lived with you for 3 of the past 5 years
- You’re the child’s relative or a foster parent, and the child has been living with you for at least 1 year
- You have the agreement of anyone named in a child arrangements order as someone who the child will live with
- You have the agreement of all the people with parental responsibility for the child
- You have the agreement of the local council, if the child is in care
If this isn’t the case you will, again, need the permission of the court to make an application of this type with a completed C2 form and forms C1 and C13A. You’ll also need to attempt mediation and inform your local council three months before you plan to make the application (full details here).
Finally – if you wish for your contact details to be kept confidental from others in the case you will need to complete a C8 form too!
An SGO may be the right option for your situation, but it is not to be taken lightly!
Conclusion
There are plenty of options open to family members who want to continue a relationship with a child in the face of parental separation. It is almost always in the best interests of a child to continue to spend time with much loved family members and as I’ve shown there are at least 2 avenues open to provide for this. In an ideal world people will work together for the children in their family and avoid court – which also avoids extra cost, time and heart break.
But if there is no other alternative, there is provision for a child to have a relationship with their other family members.
Resources
- C100 Form – to apply for contact
- C2 Form – to ask permission to apply for contact
- Family court fees
- C1 Form – to apply for an order
- C13A – supporting statment form
- C8 Form – to apply to keep your contact details confidential from other parties in family proceedings’ (form C8) an
This post is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.
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