Custody and Grandparent’s Rights : Here’s What You Need to Know

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Custody and Grandparent’s Rights : Here’s What You Need to Know

There are various different scenarios in which grandparents request to get custody of their grandchildren.

Such cases are often fraught with emotion because the judge has to weigh the parent’s rights and child’s well-being versus the grandparent’s rights and desires.

Here’s What You Need to Know

Grandparent’s Rights to Custody

From state to state grandparent’s rights regarding custody and visitation differ greatly.

Not all the states allow grandparents to apply for custody. But all states allow grandparents to apply for some type of visitation with their grandchild.

In briefly, grandparents do not automatically have custody rights to their grandchild, but depending on the state and the circumstances they may have the right to petition the court for it.

As some regulations are permissive while others are restrictive, as the grandparent, you need to understand your state’s rules and regulations,

How Grandparents Can Obtain Custody ?

Whether you can get custody of your grandchild, even if your adult child does not permit it, depends on several factors, including where you live.

Before granting a grandparent custody, some states require one of the following situations :

Either the parents or one of the parents has passed away.
Due to alcohol or drug addiction, crime, mental illness, neglect or abuse the parents are unfit.
The parents are either divorced or are no longer an perfect couple.
The parents or one parent, if the other parent’s were unknown, agree to have the grandparents take custody.
Custody is given to the grandparents to keep the child safe, during an investigation by child protective services.
The grandchild was already living with the grandparent when there is situation such as a single parent going to jail..
The grandchild is old enough to tell a judge that he/she wants to live with their grandparents.
Until the mother is able to take care of the child herself, a court grants joint custody to a young mother and a grandparent
The grandparents are guardians in a will, as both parents pass away unexpectedly.

The grandparents might still get visitation rights if the court denies a grandparent custody, which although easier to obtain and also often denied.

For many reasons custody could be denied that have nothing to do with the above scenarios.

For instance if the grandparents are unable to steer, they would have trouble in taking the child to the doctor,or to play with friends. Because a judge will choose the most stable situation for the child. The location of the grandparent’s home could also be a deciding factor as they will also want to keep the child in the same school.

Grandparents Taking Their Adult Child to Court.

Before obtaining custody, to file a child custody petition in court,grandparents require most of the above scenarios.

A judge may allow your case to go to trial, if you can show that you had been actively involved in the child’s life until your adult child interfered.

Getting grandparent custody is extremely difficult in any situation, but it is even more so when the child’s family is intact. The parents have the right to raise their child as they see fit, and only in rare instances and if it is in the child’s best interests.

In intact families, only when the parents are unfit or when child protective services is conducting an investigation.Then grandparents may have the right to custody.

Obtaining custody of a grandchild is difficult, nomatter what the situation,particularly if younger family members or close friends of the parents are deemed more suitable as additionally, the child may stay with their parents under certain conditions, such as if the mother entering to addiction rehabilitation.

Retaining a reputable family attorney is essential if you are serious about getting custody, because you will have to prove that there’s a special circumstance that makes it in your grandchild’s best interest for you to have custody.