Grandparent visitation. In some jurisdictions grandparents may have a legal right to have court ordered visitation (or access) of their grandchildren. In the United States all 50 states have a "grandparent visitation" statute that allows grandparents to ask a court to grant them the legal right to maintain ongoing contact with loved children. State laws vary greatly and some states do not guarantee that the grandparents will be able to obtain a court order granting them visitation. The rationale behind these laws is that sometimes, especially with the death of a parent or in a family that has undergone divorce the children may not have the opportunity to have contact with the non-custodial parent and his relatives thus fostering continued familial bonds.