Can grandparents apply for custody ?

[Ttc125]

my child’s father and his mother have stopped contact with dd until court is sorted because they weren’t happy I reduced contact due to dds fathers drug use around my child and his mum unsafely sleeping with my dd in her bed while she was sleeping and dd father let her !! (She’s 4 months but this happened at 2.5 months old)
hes a mummys boy and they’re obsessed with eachother , it’s kind of weird , it’s weirdly obsessive how they get on with eachother
i know he’s taking me to court to see dd but I have an overwhelming fear that the grandmother is going to step in and apply for rights . Is this a thing ? How likely will she be granted custody ?
im not an unfit parent , no drugs / alcohol etc but can’t say the same for him .

She can apply but it would be extremely unlikely that she would be granted residency (formally known as custody) in the circumstances you have described.

GPs do not have an automatic right to contact with grandchildren. However family courts do recognise the role that GPs play in their grandchildren's lives and are unlikely to refuse to grant access unless their is evidence of abuse or violence.

As your child is so young Dad isn't likely to get residency but will get access and there will be an expectation that this will increase as your child gets older. Can you evidence his drug use? You can ask for this to be supervised given his drug use.

Hi op my mil took me to court for access to my DC and lost. Feel free to message if any questions.

She has the right to apply and if this is granted then they start the process of looking into it all, I dug my feet in and said no contact the whole way through and a child's court officer was involved. It took 1.5 years and nearly £2000 but we won and she didn't get contact.

Yes , and they’re doing a hair follicle test suggested by my solicitor .
will he be granted overnights if she has stayed with him before ?

Messaged you x

He’s on birth certificate. Will he automatically get overnights ? She’s stayed with him before , until I stopped it due to concerns

Also I heard about meditation but I know we won’t agree on things so can I refuse and when they ask why I refused will it go against me if I say I didn’t wanna be around him? My solicitor isn’t free today to ask these questions 😭

We didn't do mediation with grandparent I've messaged you back however it's one of those scenarios that you could write all day about too much to explain

Go to mediation to find out what he - the father of your child not his mother - is likely to ask the Court for.

Make sure you take notes of what he is asking for.

You can then refuse to agree with him in mediation, and then research yourself whether if it goes to Court he's likely to get it.

Once he puts in Court papers take proper legal advice about what he is asking for. From your research you should be able to ask your solicitor/barrister detailed questions on exactly what he's likely to get.

Also doing this research should hopefully stop you scoring own goals with your statement to the Court e.g. saying you both go abroad for a week at Christmas so he can't have your DD over Christmas, so the judge awards him every other Christmas but for a week.

In terms of what contact arrangements will be agreed that is likely to be informed by the results of hairstrand test and any other known risks. No-one on here can advise you of what the likely arrangements will be without this information. For example, if it comes back as low level cannabis use that is going to result in a very different plan to results that show high use crack cocaine and chronic alcohol use.

He sometimes does cocaine on “special occasions” to sober him up so he can drink more .
he is a regular cannabis smoker , had dd in his friends house while they were smoking in his house . So if comes back positive for weed will they still grant him more access unsupervised regardless of smoking around her ?

Again it isn't possible for us to say, obviously there is a range of usage with cannabis, if it comes back high use for each month over the period, for example, they may want to see evidence of decrease, engagement with cessation services etc. I know you want an answer but the reality is no-one here can give you one, but the fact they are doing hairstrand testing is positive as this will provide some clear evidence to the courts to help them make safe decision.

All these questions have been answered on your other thread/different name. Wait for him to make the pplication and take it from there with your solicitor. Do not keep worrying and making up scenarios that are worrying you even more. Grandparent will not be allowed to be part of the proceedings and any application they make will be either treated seperately or refused. Just chill and enjoy your baby and let them make whatever application they want - when you get official notification from the court then is the time to respond to wahtever it is they are seeking.
Take care of yourself and have a good weekend.

Pallyloo can you message me please I'm after some advice x