The Daily Telegraph reported on 8 June 2012 that grandparents who send birthdays cards and presents to their grandchildren following the breakdown of the parents’ relationship have been threatened with prosecution for harassment.
In some cases, after parents split up, the parent with care falls out with his or her ex’s parents as well. Suddenly, grandparents find themselves cut out of their grandchildren’s lives. They then are horrified to learn that there is no automatic right for grandparents to see their grandchildren; the law’s focus tends to be on the relationship between children and their parents, not with their extended family.
Threatening grandparents for sending a birthday card with criminal prosecution seems to be a gross over-reaction by the police. However, grandparents should beware; if the parent with care has said that she or he does not want to the children to receive cards or gifts, then continuing to send them could be a criminal offence under the Protection from Harassment Act 1997.
If that happens, grandparents should seek legal advice. They have a choice; they can often spend time with their grandchildren when they have contact with the parent without care. However, if they do not have a relationship with the parent with care , or where he or she has died or does not have contact for some reason, the grandparents may need to consider making an application to the court for a contact order. They have seek the court’s permission to make such an application, but this is pretty much just a formality and is rarely refused. Having a relationship with both parents’ families is generally considered to be in a child’s best interests.