Grandparents’ Rights: Can You Legally See Your Grandchildren?

Losing contact with a grandchild is one of the most painful situations a family can face. Whether the cause is separation, bereavement or a falling-out, grandparents most often ask: do we have any rights?

English law gives grandparents no automatic rights, but it does give you a route.

Key takeaway This article covers the law in England and Wales. Grandparents have no automatic legal right to see or contact a grandchild. You can apply to the family court for a child arrangements order, but you usually need the court’s permission first. Permission is refused far less often than people fear, particularly where a real relationship already exists. If your grandchild has lived with you for at least three years, you can apply without permission at all.

If you’re in this situation and would like to talk it through, contact our family team for a free 30-minute consultation.

Do grandparents have legal rights in the UK?

No. Decisions about who a child spends time with rest with those who hold parental responsibility, which grandparents do not hold automatically.

However, the family court regularly makes orders for grandparents to spend time with their grandchildren, and a long-standing, loving relationship carries genuine weight.

Can a parent stop you seeing your grandchild?

Yes. A parent with parental responsibility can decide who their child sees without explaining why, however unfair that feels.

But that decision is not final. The court can review it, asking not what the parent wants but what is in the child’s best interests.

What to try before going to court

Court proceedings are slow, expensive and can harden relationships. First, it is worth trying:

• A calm, child-focused approach directly to the parent, ideally in writing so there is a record
• A letter from a solicitor, which sometimes reopens dialogue without formal proceedings
• Family mediation, where a trained mediator helps families reach a workable arrangement

A Mediation Information and Assessment Meeting (MIAM) is required before most children law applications, with limited exemptions including domestic abuse and genuine urgency. The GOV.UK guidance on contact with a grandchild when parents separate sets out the options helpfully.

Applying to court: why grandparents need permission first

The relevant order is a child arrangements order under section 8 of the Children Act 1989 (the Act). It can set out when and how you see your grandchild in person, by phone or video, or through letters and cards.

Unlike a parent, you usually need the court’s permission, known as “leave”, before you can make an application at all. This is set out in section 10 of the Act, specifically subsection (9), which directs the court to weigh the nature of the proposed application, the strength of your existing connection with the child, and any risk that the application would disrupt the child’s life.

There is no presumption against grandparents, and permission is commonly granted where an established bond exists.

When you do not need permission

There are two exceptions, which are often confused.

The first is under section 10(5)(b): if your grandchild has lived with you for at least three years, you can apply for any child arrangements order without needing permission. The period need not be continuous, but it must not have begun more than five years before the application and must not have ended more than three months before it.

The second, under section 10(5B), covers relatives where the child has lived with them for at least one year immediately before the application. This applies only to where the child should live, not contact. If you’re seeking contact with a grandchild who lives elsewhere, you still need permission even if they lived with you recently.

Permission is also unnecessary where everyone who holds parental responsibility consents.

How the court decides

Once permission is granted, the child’s welfare is paramount under section 1 of the Act. The court works through the welfare checklist: the child’s own wishes and feelings in light of their age and understanding, their needs, the likely effect of any change, any risk of harm, and each adult’s capacity to meet those needs.

What helps most is evidence of a real, continuing relationship: photographs, cards, messages, records of visits and school pick-ups, and accounts of holidays and milestones.

The court can order direct contact, indirect contact, or both, and often starts modestly, with regular afternoon visits or a weekly video call.

If you are raising your grandchild: special guardianship and kinship care

If a grandchild is living with you long term because the parents cannot care for them, a special guardianship order (SGO) under section 14A of the Act gives you parental responsibility until the child turns 18 and the authority to make most day-to-day and significant decisions, while the parents retain theirs.

Before the court can make an SGO, you must give the local authority at least three months’ written notice and they must assess your suitability. Local authority support, including financial help, is often available.

Where a child is already in care, grandparents may be assessed as kinship carers, with contact arrangements dealt with separately under section 34 of the Act.

Grandparents’ rights after the death of a parent

One of the most common reasons grandparents lose contact is the death of their own son or daughter. The surviving parent then usually decides who the child sees, and contact often stops at the very point where continuity would help the child most.

The route is the same: permission, then an application to our children law solicitors for a child arrangements order. But the case is often strong, as the court will weigh the child’s connection to the deceased parent’s family and the loss they have already experienced.

If you are now the primary carer for a grandchild following a bereavement, it is also worth thinking ahead. Appointing a guardian in a Will is one way to help secure the child’s future care arrangements if something were to happen to you.

Frequently asked questions

How often should grandparents be able to see their grandchildren?

There is no fixed amount. The court decides what suits the particular child, and a few hours each month or regular video calls is far more common than anything resembling a parent’s contact arrangements.

Can grandparents get custody of a grandchild?

“Custody” is no longer the term used in England and Wales. However, grandparents can apply for an order that a child lives with them, or for a special guardianship order, and courts do make such orders where the parents are unable to care adequately for the child.

Talk to a family solicitor in Eastbourne, Hastings or Bexhill-on-Sea

If you’ve lost contact with a grandchild, or fear you’re about to, the first step is usually a short conversation about whether permission is likely and whether a solicitor’s letter might resolve things first.

A contested application typically takes several months, and we will be clear about timescales and costs from the outset.

We offer a free 30-minute consultation with our family team, who regularly advise grandparents across East Sussex. Call us on 01323 434415 or email enquiries@stephenrimmer.com.