Cabinet pushing for grandparents to get visitation rights with grandchildren

A legislative amendment by Minister Franc Weerwind (Legal Protection) will soon make it easier for grandparents to get contact arrangements with their grandchildren. They will no longer have to prove in court that they had long-term contact with the child to get visitation rights.

“Both grandchildren and grandparents lose out big time if there is no contact between them against their will. It leads to many sad situations and can be harmful to a child’s development. It is, therefore, important to adjust the law to this end,” Weerwind said, RTL Nieuws reports.

The heart of the law - that contact be in the child’s best interest - remains. The court will determine that first. But the requirement that the grandparents prove they had a “close personal relationship” with the child will soon no longer be necessary.

The Ministry of Justice and Security stressed that contact arrangements don’t automatically mean visitation rights. “The contact can, for example, also consist of calling grandpa or grandma, if that is better for the child,” the Ministry said.