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Revised 6/27/2003
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The following information is provided by Colorado Legal Services. It is intended
as general information only, and is not meant
as legal advice for any specific situation. If you need legal advice, consult
an attorney.
Grandchildren and your
Visitation Rights
This information applies if you have one or
more grandchild(ren).
How do I set up
visitation with my grandchild?
First, talk to the child's parents about spending time with the child and see
if you can reach an agreement. If you are not able to agree, you may be able
to ask the court for help in certain specific circumstances.
Only grandparents can ask
the court for visitation according to Colorado law. No other relatives can have
the courts order visitation if the parents do not agree.
The law only allows a
request for visitation to be filed with the court when there has been a
divorce or custody action concerning the child. Another situation would be if
the child's parent, who is also the child of the grandparent, has died.
If you want to ask for visitation with your grandchild, you should file a Motion
for Grandparent Visitation and Affidavit
in Support of Grandparent Visitation.
Sometimes the district court in your county will have a Pro Se office (pro se
means you are trying to represent yourself), a family court facilitator, or a
clerk of the court who might be able to assist you in filling out forms and
filing your case. Also, there is a list of Self Help Centers on the Denver
Bar Association website (click
here) you can refer to. The Colorado
Judicial Branch (state court website) Self Help Center also has instructions for filling
out and filing many of the forms.
If there has been a divorce or custody action already filed by the parents,
file your request for visitation in the court where that action was filed.
Fill in the name of the court, names of the case, case number, etc. on your
Motion with the same information that appears on any of the documents in the
divorce or custody case.
You will also need to file a written Notice
to Set. This is necessary to start the process for choosing a date for
the hearing. The Clerk of the court can tell you what courtroom to set it in
and what phone number to use.
You must mail a copy of
the Motion and the Notice to the other parent, or to their attorney if they
have one, and you must state in the ”Certificate of Mailing” on
the bottom of each form that you have done so. File an original and one copy
of each form with the clerk of the court. Keep copies of everything you file
with the clerk of the court for your own records.
You will then call the
court on the date you have put in the Notice to Set in order to get a date
for a hearing. You or the court must then mail a copy of the Notice of
Hearing to the other parent.
Be sure to be ready to
testify that day, if you do not reach an agreement. Bring any witnesses and
evidence with you to support your request. Unless the hearing is delayed, the
court will rule on your request that day, and issue an order (decision).
If the other party comes
to court, the Judge may ask you to talk and see if you can agree about these
matters. If you are able to reach an agreement, you should tell the Judge, so
that you can say the specific things you agreed to in court. Even if you do
not reach an agreement, the court may enter orders about visitation.
If you need advice on
this or any other legal problem, contact an attorney of your own choosing. If
you cannot afford an attorney, talk to Colorado Legal Services: 303-837-1321.
Reviewed 9/24/2002
D_36
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