Nockolds Resources

Grandparents Rights Challenge and Response

Francesca Cozens talks to the Grandparents Association about the important role that Grandparents play in modern family life and the issues they can face when their children divorce and they wish to maintain their relationship with grandchildren.

I recently gave a talk on grandparents' rights to a group of local Women's Institute members aged between 24 and 84. We had many grandmothers, a couple of great-grand mothers and even on great-great grandmother in the audience. We spoke about the challenges which grandparents face when making any application in relation to children and highlighted the important role that grandparents fulfil in our society.

The feedback from the talk was really positive. The ladies felt that grandparents often do not have a voice and they were pleased to meet solicitors who wanted to give them their voice and also to learn of the invaluable service offered by the Grandparent's Association. We spoke about the legal pitfalls that face grandparents and the alternatives available for dealing with disputes outside of the Court forum.

My colleague who spoke with me has recently qualified as a Resolution Lawyer Mediator. This is a really important new method which is being encouraged by the government for resolving disputes surrounding children. Keeping the lines of communication open is essential when discussing children issues and mediation provides a neutral forum for such tasks.

We also talked about the financial assistance increasingly being provided by grandparents. In the current economic climate I have met grandparents who have provided significant financial deposits on houses, monies for improvements / renovations and even mortgage repayments. We asked the group whether such monies should be a gift or a loan event if a child then separated from their spouse. Unsurprisingly the ladies wanted their children alone to benefit from the monies.

It is important that you obtain independent legal advice at an early stage to ensure that your position and your monies are protected in the future. At Nockolds LLP, we deal with these problems regularly. Our team has specialised accreditations dealing with high value cases, pensions, children and unmarried couples.

For further information please contact Francesca Cozens on (01279) 755777 or email fmcozens@nockolds.co.uk

Francesca Cozens (profile) Francesca Cozens Monday 12th July 2010
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