A new factor has been added to ugly courtroom custody battles as the court systems have been confronted by grandparents who are fighting to keep visitation rights with grandchildren in spite of the wishes of the child's parent. States have been swinging back and forth on the issue, but last week Ohio joined the side for the grandparents' rights with a unanimous decision from the Ohio Supreme Court. The court ruled in favor of the rights of grandparents who wanted to play an active role in their grandchild's life, despite the father's allegations that they had attempted to turn the child against him after the death of the child's mother. The ruling is a positive one for Ohio families because it will allow the wishes of the grandparents to be heeded, thus allowing the advantages of extended family relations - provided they are in the best interest of the child.
In the case that swayed the court's ruling, the grandparents of an 8-year-old girl had been extremely active in her life and provided a place in their home for the single mother and child for the first two years of the child's life. After the mother died and custody of the then 5-year-old was given to the father years later, it was clearly reasonable to acknowledge the importance in upholding the emotional connection among the family members. However, in other cases, there is not such a cut-and-dry choice to be made, because grandparents have to prove it would be detrimental to the child if they were not in the child's life.
It is important and admirable for the Ohio Supreme Court to recognize that individual court rulings in the future should not only take parents' and grandparents' legal rights into consideration, but also ultimately hold the child's welfare as a top priority. In the midst of various states' rulings on grandparents' right, the new Ohio stance on the issue will not disregard the wishes of parents - or the welfare of the child - but simply will give grandparents a say in their grandchild's upbringing, which, especially in that case, is well warranted considering the grandparents previous commitment to the child.
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Ruling promotes family interaction
