Can Grandparents Get Court-Ordered Visitation or Custody in Minnesota?

More and more grandparents are raising the children of their children. And grandparents can often find it very difficult to get time with their grandchildren after a divorce. Courts often lump in grandparent’s time with Mom or Dad’s parenting time. If your son or daughter doesn’t make sure that you get time with your grandkids then you might find yourself in an awkward position. There are many reasons why this happens. Sometimes parents don’t exercise their parenting time rights. It’s also possible that your son or daughter didn’t get much of a parenting time award to begin with, or was denied access due to abuse that you had nothing to do with. The death of a child’s parent may further complicate your ability to see your grandchild. Or you might be estranged from your own son or daughter, which means you have found yourself in a situation where neither parent wants to help you. In Minnesota, there are specific situations where the court might be willing to entertain the notion of grandparent’s custody or parenting time. They are: The child’s parent (your child or the spouse) is deceased. The child’s parents are getting divorced. The child lived with you for over a year. You were involved in certain legal proceedings regarding the children,…