Child visitation disputes in America can and often do escalate into contentious battles. These can be the result of various factors such as parental conflict and legal or emotional complexities. The conflicts can have significant impacts on families, particularly children.

This column is focusing on the dilemma specifically facing great-grandparents. Interestingly, a legal process exists for grandparents to seek relief from the courts to gain access to their grandkids. Those laws don’t apply to the generation before them: the great-grandparents.

The New York custody statute does not provide a list of factors for determining what is in the best interest of the child. However, a court may grant visitation rights to a grandparent if at least one of the child’s parents is deceased, one parent is denying access, if a relationship had been established with the child, and if the court finds that equity and fairness demand intervention based on the circumstances of the case.

Donna and Michelle decided to attend one of State Sen. Pam Helming’s mobile office hours at the Macedon Public Library. They approached her with their situation. As a grandmother herself, Helming found the story heartbreaking.

Helming decided to take on the fight for new great-grandparents’ rights. After talking to Donna and Michelle’s attorney, Carl Schwartz, and doing some research of her own, Helming found there were some options available to fix this situation, urging the women to be optimistic about the effort.

A law had been introduced in the State Assembly as the Domestic Relations Law and Family Court Act. What currently exists gives grandparents visitation rights. Helming now co-sponsors the legislation and also asked colleague Roxanne Persaud, as the chair of the Social Services Committee, to introduce and sponsor the bill in the Senate that adds great-grandparents. Helming hopes to partner with Persaud to get support from the Senate Committee on Children and Families; they hope that panel will make it a priority. Helming hopes organizations like AARP and others lobby and build support.

The process could be as simple as amending the current law by adding some lines like: “in respect to certain infant children grandchildren or great-grandchildren” — essentially, adding great-grandparents to whatever it applies to grandparents.

According to Helming, the simplest way to achieve this goal is for Gov. Kathy Hochul to include it in the budget process. The budget is due in April, so time is of the essence. Helming says she typically would not take the budget route, but this situation calls for it because of time restraints. It is a simple fix that will untie the hands of judges who have to follow the existing law.

In the meantime, Michelle and Donna simply have to wait.