Grandmother wants access to grandchild

Q: Dear Mrs Macaulay,

Do grandmothers have any visiting rights to grandchildren? My only child, a son, died almost a year ago leaving a six-year-old son who had been coming to us every other weekend from he was six weeks old. After his death, everything was the same. The child came every other weekend even after his mother and I had words some time in March of this year. I paid for the nanny, the light bill and gave her $15,000 every two weeks, but in July I stopped giving her the money. That was when I stopped seeing the child. Can I take her to court to see him? He is not seeing anyone on his father’s side of the family.

A: You have been very good to have been assisting with some of your grandchild’s expenses after the death of your son. It is a great pity that, despite the long relationship you had with your grandchild, his mother has terminated all visits to you which you had enjoyed from he was six weeks old.

Let me say up front, your grandchild has the right to his name and to know and have a relationship with his family — all his family. This of course includes his paternal family. Who then could be closer than his grandparents and via his name, his paternal grandparents?

Additionally, when a child’s parents are unable to provide for him or her, the Maintenance Act places on the grandparents the responsibility to step into the shoes of such parents and provide maintenance for their grandchildren.

Indeed, this may, in certain circumstances, involve also providing a home for them and such grandparents would or should apply for custody, care and control of such grandchildren. Such applications ought to be made in the Supreme Court.

You ask a simple and direct question, whether you can take your daughter-in-law to court to see your grandson. The short answer to that is yes.

The person of priority, whose right has been denied by the mother’s action, is your grandson. His mother was, and is completely wrong to just stop his visits and relationship with you. He has a right to see you and to have a relationship with you and his mother has no right to deny him this. You come next, you also have a right to have access to him and to have a relationship with him, especially in your particular circumstances of your son’s death. If he was alive the question would in all probability never arise, as he would take him to your home which happened from shortly after his birth up to his present age of six.

No parent has the right to deprive the access and relationship which a child had enjoyed and was enjoying with their other parent or grandparents, because they stopped giving the mother money to assist with maintenance. Access is not predicated on the payment of maintenance or provision of any kind. I repeat again, it is the child’s right to have it and the parent’s obligation to see that the child has it.

You can apply to the court so that you can have your grandson’s access to you and yours to him regularised. You can at the same time have your contribution for his maintenance regularised as well. All this ought to ensure fewer incidents of dispute in the future. These only cause the boy to suffer form the silly acts of the closest adults in his life.

I wish you all the best. Make sure that your application is made in the Supreme Court which has jurisdiction to implement all the provisions of the Children (Guardianship and Custody) Act, which in addition to the Maintenance Act are relevant for your applications.

Good luck to you and your grandson. He is blessed to have you and I am very pleased that you wrote to me about the possibility of you taking steps to ensure that he enjoys his right to have a real relationship with you. This is vital for his wholesome overall development and the full realisation of his right as a minor child.

God bless you both, and his mother.

Margarette May Macaulay is an attorney-at-law, Supreme Court mediator, notary public and women’s and children’s rights advocate. Send questions via e-mail to allwoman@jamaicaobserver. com; or write to All Woman, 40-42 1/2 Beechwood Avenue, Kingston 5.

DISCLAIMER:

The contents of this article are for informational purposes only and must not be relied upon as an alternative to legal advice from your own attorney.