You do not have an automatic legal right to see your grandchild if a parent stops you seeing them. There may however be steps you can take to get access.Grandparents: contact with children after parental divorce or separation

A child needs a lot of support to stop them feeling upset or worried when their family has split up. Contact with grandparents can help. Find out how you can make an arrangement to see grandchildren if their family has broken up.

You can try to get help in seeing your grandchild through:

• an informal, family-based arrangement with both parents
• mediation

If this does not work you can ask the court for permission to apply for a court order. You apply for permission on the same form as the court order application.

Mediation

An independent family mediator can help you and family members work out an agreement.

They will organise a ‘mediation information and assessment meeting’ (MIAM). This is designed to help families reach agreements following divorce or separation, including those involving children.

If the parents are in conflict or not allowing you contact, you could suggest that you go with them for mediation.

A mediator is an independent person who can help you get an agreement. As a grandparent, you’ll need to get both parents to agree to try mediation.

Applying to court to see your grandchildren

If trying informal arrangements or using mediation don’t work, you can consider applying to a court.

Going to court should be your last resort. It’s time consuming and expensive. It can also be disruptive to the child. You should try every other option first.

While a court will recognise how important a grandparent is to a child, you don’t have an automatic right to apply for contact with grandchildren. You will need to ask the court for permission first.

You do this by completing a form C2 and returning it to a court that deals with family matters. You can do this yourself, but you may want to get some legal advice.

What the courts will consider

When considering whether to give you permission to see your grandchild the court will look at:

• the details of your proposals
• your connection with the child
• any risk of disrupting the child’s life
• the wishes and feelings of the child’s parents

Apply for a court order

You must attend a meeting about mediation before you can apply to a court, unless you’re exempt (for example, because domestic violence is involved).

If you’ve been to a meeting and still want to apply for a court order, you need to:

• fill in the C100 application form
• send it to your nearest family court

The mediator who facilitated your mediation meeting must sign the court order to confirm you attended the meeting.

You will have to pay a £215 court fee. You may be able to get help paying the fee.

What happens next

The court will decide whether or not you can spend time with the child and if so, what sort of contact would be in the child’s interest. For example, an order might state that you can only have contact by telephone or letters (indirect contact).

The order can decide:

• where a child lives
• who a child spends time with and when
• what types of communication, such as face-to-face contact or phone calls, should take place between the child and someone named in the order

The court will always make a decision based on what is in the child’s best interests.

Further information

You can get more support and advice from:

• the Family Mediation Council
• Kinship
• National Family Mediation
• Citizens Advice