QLD Grandparents Rights to Visit Grandchildren

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juli

Member
22 August 2014
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0
1
My son's ex has just given birth to twins. there is a DVO (domestic violence) in effect. He has not been informed of the birth and is not aware of how they are all doing. He is to appear in court and will be sentenced for the duration of his probation due to breaching the DVO and driving under suspension.

Under family law, am I able to contact his ex or her family without breaching the DVO to find out about my grandchildren? Also, am I able to have visitation with my grandchildren (grandparents rights)?
 

rebeccag

Well-Known Member
8 April 2014
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35
514
G'day @juli
Is the DVO against you? If so, you need to abide by the terms. If there's no DVO against you, then you can't breach it and you can contact his ex/her family.

Check out these previous LawAnswers Family Law Forum posts about grandparents' rights:
Hope that helps.

Also, has your son engaged a lawyer for the DVO situation? The Legal Aid QLD "Someone has applied for a domestic violence protection order against me" page has some useful information.
 

juli

Member
22 August 2014
3
0
1
G'day @juli
Is the DVO against you? If so, you need to abide by the terms. If there's no DVO against you, then you can't breach it and you can contact his ex/her family.

Check out these previous LawAnswers posts about grandparents' rights:
Hope that helps.

Also, has your son engaged a lawyer for the DVO situation? The Legal Aid QLD "Someone has applied for a domestic violence protection order against me" page has some useful information.
No it isn't. Not that I know of
 

AllForHer

Well-Known Member
23 July 2014
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To be frank, even if the DVO was against you, the child's right to spend time and communicate with persons of significance to the child (ie grandparents) overrides domestic violence orders. Even if you were a parent, a DVO still wouldn't be enough to cease the relationship between parent and child. Sure, it would complicate matters, but it takes a lot of evidence and a very long time to convince a court dealing with parenting matters that it's in a child's best interests to have no contact with one of their parents.
 

AllForHer

Well-Known Member
23 July 2014
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684
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Your first step is to attempt mediation with the primary carer. To do this, you can contact Legal Aid for family dispute resolution to try and reach an agreement that enables you to spend time with your grandchild.