There is no such thing as grandparent rights in the UK. Grandparents do not have automatic legal rights over their grandchildren in the UK, including visitation rights and parental responsibility. The lack of automatic visitation rights means that parents can prevent or deny grandparents from seeing their grandchildren if they wish to. Depending on the circumstances, however, grandparents may be able to apply to the family court for a Child Arrangements Order (CAO), granting grandparents contact or even guardianship over their grandchildren.
What rights can grandparents in the UK apply for?
A grandparent in the UK may be able to apply for any of the following to see their grandchildren:
- Visitation Rights (Child Arrangements Order)
- Legal Guardianship (Special Guardianship Order)
- Specific Issues Order (SIO) or Prohibited Steps Order (PSO)
Visitation Rights
Grandparents in the UK may be able to apply to a family court for visitation rights (i.e. the right to see their grandchildren). To apply for visitation rights, grandparents need to ask permission from a family court to apply for a Child Arrangements Order (CAO), which will set out the terms of the visitation rights. Before asking for permission to apply for visitation rights, you must consider mediation to reach an informal arrangement with the parents of the child (or those with parental responsibility). This means that you must attend a ‘mediation information and assessment meeting’ (MIAM) where a specially trained mediator will determine if mediation is suitable in the circumstances.
If mediation is not suitable, or if it does not resolve the situation, grandparents can then ask a family court for permission to apply for a CAO to grant them visitation rights. The courts will normally require applicants to have attended a MIAM before they will grant permission.
Legal Guardianship
As a grandparent, you may be able to apply for a Special Guardianship Order to become your grandchild’s legal guardian. Grandparents typically apply for legal guardianship in circumstances where neither parent can look after their child, and they need to step into this vital role. This may be the case if the parents have been deemed unfit or due to their imprisonment or death. Special guardianship will allow you to make important decisions on behalf of your grandchild, such as where they go to school, the medical treatment they receive, and any religious matters.
Prevent certain actions from being taken
Another option that you may have as a grandparent is to apply for a Specific Issues Order (SIO) or Prohibited Steps Order (PSO). This may be necessary, for example, if you disagree with a decision that has been made regarding your grandchild’s education, religion, medical treatment, or where they will live (e.g. if they are being taken out of the country). A Prohibited Steps Order, if granted, is an order of the court that will prevent the action from being taken. Unfortunately, unless they have parental responsibility or are named in a CAO, grandparents do not have the automatic right to apply for an Specific Issues Order or Prohibited Steps Order, but they can apply to the court for permission to do so.
Grounds to apply for legal rights as grandparents
Grandparents cannot apply for a family court order relating to their grandchild without first getting the permission of the court to do so. Only individuals named in a CAO or who hold parental responsibility can do this. Grandparents may, however, be able to make an application to seek permission to apply for a court order depending on:
- The nature of the proposed CAO application
- The bond of the grandparent with their grandchildren
- Any risk or harm to grandchildren
- Any negative impacts of granting the court order
- Local authority plans for the child
The nature of the application
The courts will assess the nature of the application to apply for a court order relating to a grandchild. It is important to bear in mind that the court will not simply grant permission to apply for a CAO or another type of order lightly. They will look at why you believe that a court order is warranted and whether this is in the best interests of the child, given the circumstances. In other words, the courts are concerned with the interests of the child, not the grandparent.
The bond of the grandparent with their grandchildren
While it is not the overriding factor in the court’s decision-making, they may take into account the extent of the connection between the grandparent and their grandchild. For example, if the grandparent has played a key role in the life of the child (e.g. picking them up from school each day and looking after them while the parent is at work), this may have a positive impact on the decision.
Any risk or harm to grandchildren
The court will want to understand the nature of any risk or harm to the grandchild. Depending on the circumstances, the court may request external assistance to make this decision. This may include information from social workers or a report from the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass). If they have evidence that the child is at risk of harm, they are more likely to grant permission to apply for a CAO or another type of court order.
Any negative impacts of granting the court order.
Another factor that will be considered by the court when assessing whether to allow a grandparent to apply for a court order relating to their grandchild is the risk of the proposed application disrupting the child’s life to such an extent that he would be harmed by it. In other words, while the application may be well-intentioned, if the judge believes that granting permission will cause more harm than good to the child, it will be refused.
Local authority plans
If the child is currently being looked after by a local authority, the court will take into consideration their plans for the child and the wishes and feelings of the child’s parents.
