My son and I had another major disagreement recently about money he owes me and now he won’t let me see the kids. What can I do?

Unfortunately, there is no federal law that guarantees all grandparents visitation rights to     see their grandchildren. Furthermore, during the past decade, U. S. Supreme Court decisions appear to have somewhat weakened the rights of grandparents to see their grandchildren.

Be sure to ask yourself if the money owed is worth not seeing the children. While it’s morally wrong for your son to keep the children from seeing you regularly, particularly if the debt is the only reason, it may not be easy to get a court to value your rights over your son’s in determining who the children should see regularly.

See if your son will agree to pay out the debt or consider forgiving all or part of it. Keeping your family close can be critical in creating a healthy emotional future for the children. Analyze all of your recent interactions with your son’s family to be sure you aren’t unwittingly doing anything else that’s caused this breach in your relationship.