Grandparent visitation

Dear Debra Heintz:

Greetings. If your son files a claim for custody, you and your husband may intervene in the custody action and request visitation while he is deployed. This action should ensure that you can visit with the children for a large amount of time while he is deployed. I would not suspend child support for any reason, as that hurts the children, not just her. Best of luck.

Janet L. Fritts
Attorney with Rosen Divorce
4101 Lake Boone Trail, Suite 500
Raleigh, North Carolina 27607
RosenDivorce.com
919-787-6668

The response posted above is based upon the limited factual information made available and is not intended as a full and complete response to the question. The only reliable manner to obtain complete and adequate legal advice is to consult with an attorney, fully explain your situation, and allow the attorney sufficient opportunity to research the applicable law and facts required to render an accurate opinion. The basic information provided above is intended as a public service but a full discussion with an attorney should be undertaken before taking any action.

My son is being deployed to the middle east at the end of this month. He is separated from his wife. They are working on a mediation agreement. At this time, neither is represented by an attorney.
They have minor children, ages 3 and 5.
They share joint custody through a verbal agreement negotiated with the mediator(65% to MOM, 35% to father). HE pays child support based on this formula though he often keeps them on a more frequent basis. He plans to issue power of attorney to his father and me to manage his affairs in his absence. He would also like us, his parents, to have his visitation time during his absence. The wife disagrees. We offered to compromise with just every other weekend. Still she objects.
What visitation rights do grandparents have to grandchildren. Don’t grandparent rights derive from their child’s rights? In the absence of a signed agreement, how should we proceed? The mother suggests we may be able to see them once a month, if, when, it is convenient for her. In the absence of an agreement, there is obviously no court ordered child support as yet. In our son’s absence, should we suspend child support until the matter is settled for both support and visitation?