New Law Gives Grandparents More Rights in Nova Scotia

The Canadian province, Nova Scotia, amended a custody act giving grandparents new rights effective September 1, 2014, reports Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

Previously under the Maintenance and Custody Act if grandparents sought access to their grandchildren through the court, they had to ask the court’s permission for standing before obtaining a hearing on their case, according to the CBC. The new amendment removes the extra step of applying for standing, allowing the courts to directly consider requests for contact from grandparents.

Pauline Glenn, who is involved with Grandparents Rights for Nova Scotia, said, “We have a voice now. The courts will look at us more positively, because we have rights.”

According to CBC, the new allowance for grandparents “mostly affects situations where parents divorce or separate and one parent blocks access to the grandparents.”

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