The children become the innocent victim of long-term loyalty conflicts. Divorce rocks a child's world. The death of a parent is even worse. Grandparent visitation lawsuits make it even harder for the child to cope. The litigation drains away financial resources already strained by widowhood or divorce.
Grandparents are often better positioned to bear the costs of litigation.
This may allow the grandparents to coerce the parents into an undesirable settlement to avoid ruinous litigation expenses.