Texas Grandparents Right to Visitation

Under Texas law, a grandparent may file an original suit seeking possession of and access to a child.

A court will only order reasonable possession of or access to a grandchild if certain conditions are met. If you are a grandparent seeking visitation, you must meet three conditions:

1. First, at least one of the child’s adoptive or biological parents must have parental rights to the child. If both parents’ parental rights have been terminated, if both parents have died, or if the child has been adopted, the court will not grant you possession of or access to the child.
2. Second, the court will presume that the parent is acting in the best interest of the child. As a grandparent seeking visitation, you must overcome this presumption by showing that denial of possession of or access to the child would significantly impair the child’s physical health or emotional well being.
3. Third, you will have to show that your child, a parent of your grandchild, has either (1) been in jail or prison for a three month period prior to filing the suit, (2) has been found by a court to be incompetent, (3) is dead, or (4) does not have access to or possession of the child.

If you have a legal issue related to Grandparents' Rights in Texas in the Austin area, please contact Cindy Veidt for an appointment to discuss.