What legal rights to access do grandparents have to their grandchildren in English law?
Absolutely none, I’m afraid. There is a presumption in law of contact for parents but nothing whatsoever for grandparents. They could apply for a contact order with their grandchild, but enforcing it would be virtually impossible if the estranged parent doesn’t want contact. The only option for the court, if he/she (usually it’s the ex-daughter-in-law) doesn’t comply, is to jail her and that is in practice never going to happen. As you can see from other answers, most members of the public believe grandparents do have legal rights, and most of them will only ever realise this isn’t the case once they are faced with this unfortunate situation themselves. The best solution is to negotiate with the daughter-in-law – beg, plead if necessary! Undignified but does it matter if you get that precious contact?
