We are loving Grandparents that were involved in our Grandchildrens lives from their birth, saw them several times a

Expert's Assistant chat
Customer: Second Opinion] We are loving Grandparents that were involved in our Grandchildrens lives from their birth, saw them several times a week. Helped when our daughter had very serious migranes when she was totally debiliated. Picked up the children from day care and school. Cooked meals several times a week and did a lot of physical work for the the parents, ie. putting up sheds fixing plumbings, etc, etc... We are Christian people and tried to bring all our children up with morality, care and love but left the decision to them as to what they wanted for their lives. We had the children overnight many times and set up our home to be child friendly and for them to be emotionally and physically healthy. We have many letters of thanks and appreciation for our help but almost overnight our daughter has said she was bullied and controlled in her childhood and because we queried some decisions they made i.e. child discipline (smacking) and baptism. and she JA: What steps have they taken? Have they filed any papers in family court? Customer: sorry I accidently sent this too soon when I knocked enter......We have appologised countless times (at least 10-15 and taken 100 percent of the blame, have promised to change will abide by decisions that they have made but no matter what they have cut nearly all of my and my husbands families. We have begged for mediation but have never complies other than one hour only with my daughter and her councilors over a period of one and a half years. Her councilors follow strange religious practices which promotes severance of family for which the one Phycologist lost his license. The two other councilors have been trained by him. We miss our Grandchildren beyond words and need help desperately. Anne Tieleman. JA: Family law varies by state. What state are they in? Customer: Western Australia JA: Is there anything else the Lawyer should know before I connect you? Rest assured that they'll be able to help you. Customer: Our two sons, do not agree with her about their unbringing. We are not perfect and agree we mistakes may have been made but we did our best and loves them all as much as a parent can.
Answered by John Melis in 10 mins 1 year ago
imglogo
John Melis
10+ years of experience
logo

77438 Satisfied customers

Expert in: Family Law, Legal, Estate Law, Real Estate Law, Criminal Law, Employment Law, Business Law, Consumer Protection Law, Bankruptcy Law, Traffic Law, Personal Injury Law.

logoBack
logologo
John Melis
logo
logo
77438 Satisfied customers
logo
10+ years of experience
imglogo
John Melis
10+ years of experience
logo

77438 Satisfied customers

Jessica

Jessica

Consultant

31,131 Satisfied customers

Pearl avatar
Lawyer's, Assistant
116 Lawyers are online right now.
img

John Melis, Expert

Hello, I’m John Melis, a solicitor in Australia, and I’ll be helping you with your question today.

I appreciate that you have been good grandparents to your grandchildren. Could you please clarify what your question is?

img

John Melis, Expert

Grandparents are entitled to apply for parenting orders under s 65C of the Family Law Act, which provides:

Whilst grandparents specifically have standing to make an application under the Family Law Act; it does not automatically mean orders will be granted.

As with any parenting order, the court will always consider an application by the grandparents through the prism of what is in the child’s best interests.

You may start the process with mediation through relationships Australia.

The alternative is to commence proceedings in the family court.

We can chat in this box as long as you need.

Customer
We have been severed completely from contact and what visitation rights but have no idea at what an outcome would be if we took the course of going through the courts? What would be the success rate be? The parents of the children are together but are guided by unusual religious counciling that promotes severance of family. Their phychologist has lost his license because of this but still practices through other channels. This would be an expensive journey, would it even be worthwhile? Do you know any case studies exactly like this?
img

John Melis, Expert

You are entitled to have connection with your grandchildren. Many times grandparents are forced into a situation of not having contact with the grandchildren. You can file an application to the court and run it yourself. It is not expensive. It's just a matter of commencing the process in the court. However, if mediation is not attempt at first, I do suggest that you do try mediation through dispute resolution practitioner.
Customer
We have begged for mediation for one and a half years to no effect so at this stage have applied to Relationships Australia for help. We have an appointment on 10 August but we need to know are the orders from these cases if we go to court likely to be successful or will they be too restrictive anyway, i.e. extremely time and place restricted?
img

John Melis, Expert

I appreciate that you are having trouble getting mediation. If you can't get the mediation going, may I suggest that you file the application into the family court. You can run your case and you can save the cost in lawyer fees. Many grandparents run their own cases in the court.
Customer
That is interesting!! But would it compromise the result with us not being professionals?
img

John Melis, Expert

No it will not. Just follow the court steps that they give you and you can manage this very well.You’re handling this matter very well.If there is anything else, big or small, that I can help you with today, please let me know?
Customer
Are you in Western Australia
img

John Melis, Expert

I am in Melbourne Australia.
Customer
Oh no.....
img

John Melis, Expert

There are excellent resources on the courts website that you can use.I know you put so much time and effort into this, and if you follow the steps as suggested above, it will give you a direction to go.If there is anything else, please let me know.
Customer
How can I contact you in case we want to run further questions by you once we have commenced the action?
img

John Melis, Expert

You can come back to this chat box.
Customer
At any time?
img

John Melis, Expert

at any time.
Customer
How long can you talk on the phone when we are ready for that? How much an hour would that be please?
img

John Melis, Expert

We can talk as long as you want on the phone.
Customer
Thanks for your help we feel more encouraged. We would love to know if there has been other case studies similar to ours as we have noticed that often these situations come about with parents of children that have divorced and the Grandchildren have been taken away. This is not our situation of course. Do you know any case studies at all?
img

John Melis, Expert

There are many cases similar to your situation. They all go into the family court and most of them run their own case.
Customer
We think our daughter and son-in-law have a lawyer which we feel might leave us disadvantaged but you are right we are across all aspects of this situation and with the support of all of our families including our sons.
img

John Melis, Expert

I know you put so much time and effort into this, and if you follow the steps as suggested above, it will give you a direction to go.If there is anything else, please let me know.
Customer
Once last question, they use physical discipline is this somethings that should be mentioned or is it taking things too far.
img

John Melis, Expert

you can utilise that to your advantage. Just put it in your application form.
Customer
Thank you so much!! We will be in touch.
Ask a lawyer and get your legal questions answered.
See all Legal Questions
img
Related Legal Questions
How it works
logoAsk for help, 24/7
Ask for help, 24/7
Members enjoy round-the-clock access to 12,000+ verified Experts, including doctors, lawyers, tech support, mechanics, vets, home repair pros, more.
logoExpert will respond in minutes
Expert will respond in minutes
After you reach out, we match you with an Expert who specializes in your situation. Talk, text, chat, whichever you prefer.
logoSave time & money
Save time & money
No scheduling hassles, missing time from work, or expensive consults.
A JustAnswer membership can save you significant time and money each month.
img
logo 593 Verified lawyers, 10+ years of experience
DISCLAIMER: Answers from Experts on Askalawyeroncall.com are not substitutes for the advice of an attorney. Askalawyeroncall.com is a public forum and questions and responses are not private or confidential or protected by the attorney-client privilege. The Expert above is not your attorney, and the response above is not legal advice. You should not read this response as proposing specific action or addressing your specific circumstances, but only to give you a sense of general principles of law that might affect the situation you describe. Application of these general principles to particular circumstances should be done by a lawyer who has spoken with you in confidence, learned all relevant information, and explored various options. Before acting on any information received from an Expert, you should hire a lawyer licensed to practice law in the jurisdiction to which your question pertains. The responses above are from independent, freelance Experts, who are not employed by Askalawyeroncall.com . The site and services are provided “as is”. To view the verified credentials of an Expert, click on the “Verified” symbol in the Expert’s profile. This site is not for emergency questions which should be directed immediately by telephone or in-person to qualified professionals. Please carefully read the Terms of Service.
Explore law categories
Powered by JustAnswer