Grandparents rights is still an issue which is causing huge upset and it is so unecessary.
The Times reported a truly sorrowful tale of a grandfather (a retired Judge as it happens) effectively being stopped from seeing his grandchildren after his son had died and also tells his opinion of what he clearly sees to be the suffering caused by the Court system. It also makes it very clear that he thinks the Children Act requirement that grandparents should have to ask for permission to apply for contact is offensive.
I agree. It is time for the government to admit that the Act is wrong, offensive to grandparents and often used to stop children seeing their grandparents. How bizarre is that? There should be a rule that grandparents have contact to their grandchildren unless there is a very good reason why not.
And there should be much more emphasis on the use of mediation to resolve these issues. An adversarial approach often makes the relationships worse.
Andrew Woolley
Family lawyer