Articles

For a lot of reasons, grandparents custody is on the rise these days. Much of this is due to the percentages of marriage that end in divorce, but there are also often factors such as the premature death of a parent, parental problems with drugs or incarceration, or financial problems tied to these tough times. Any of these things can cause grandparents to have to take responsibility for their grandkids. For grandparents, it is important to understand what custody means and what grandparents rights are. There is a lot of happiness that comes along with raising grandchildren, but there are also […]

With changing familial structures that involve divorce and remarriage, some family relationships and roles fall to the wayside. Grandparents are often victims of these changes, with their grandparents visitation rights commonly terminated upon a relationship’s demise. Because of the bond between grandparent and grandchild, it’s important to understand just what constitutes grandparents visitation rights. Grandparents’ rights are actually governed by state statutes, which are given effect in other jurisdictions via federal law. Generally speaking, grandparents’ rights to visitation fall into one of two categories: restrictive and permissive. Restrictive statutes only permit grandparents visitation if parents have divorced or if one […]

Grandparents can be awarded visitation rights to their grandchildren, but it is often a difficult process and the difficulty varies from state to state and even court to court. In my book No Greater Loss I cover all of the issues surrounding grandparents visitation, and I’ll try to give you some idea of the general situation here. The visitation rights of grandparents after divorce have been addressed many times by individual states for a variety of reasons. For one thing, advocates argue that grandparents provide a constant supply of support for children whose lives are otherwise disrupted by divorce. Advocates […]

More and more the subject of grandparents rights is coming up in our society. In my recent book No Greater Loss I took a detailed look at the current status of grandparents rights as well as giving some resources and advice to those in need. Here is some of what I found out in researching that book. Children are the best companions to the aging grandparents. In the past they were under grandparent’s custody irrespective of their parents alive or not. Later the society has undergone changes and now separation, divorce, premature deaths to parents are most common among the […]

Gov. Sam Brownback has signed a new Kansas grandparents rights bill into law, in an effort to give grandparents more rights in child-in-need-of-care cases. The House Substitute for Senate Bill 23, which expands grandparents rights to take over parenting when their children are deemed unfit parents, was signed by Brownback earlier this month. The bill gives grandparents automatic standing in court in child-in-need-of-care cases. Without automatic standing as interested parties, grandparents are not necessarily sent notice of proceedings involving their grandchildren, resulting in the children being placed in institutions or foster care. Many grandparents testified in the legislative proceedings that […]

There are a variety of different circumstances in which it may be appropriate for a grandparent to file for grandparents visitation rights. In the instance where a divorce has become quite bitter and a custody battle has erupted, court ordered visitation has been found to give the grandchildren a sense of continuity and stability. This is especially true in the case where the grandparents are the parents of the non-custodial parent. The visitation rights of grandparents after divorce have been addressed many times by individual states for a variety of reasons. Grandparents rights advocates argue that grandparents provide a constant […]

Grandparents form deep and loving attachments with the children in their lives. Yet when death, divorce, or estrangement tears families apart, these caretakers may find themselves without any legal right to maintain contact with the children they love. Many will have to make legal claims based on varying state laws. In my book No Greater Loss I discuss the best methods for grandparents to solidify these claims and the best practices for grandparents in their relationship with their grandchildren. All 50 states currently have some type of “grandparent visitation” statute through which grandparents can ask a court to grant them the legal right […]

When it comes to grandparents custody rights, in many states grandparents have no rights to visit, see or speak with their grandchildren unless the child’s parents permit such. This means that a grandparent cannot petition the court for access to the grandchild; such a petition will likely be immediately dismissed because of the lack of legal basis to grant the request. However, if a grandparent believes that her grandchild’s welfare is in serious danger, she can notify the authorities and potentially petition the court for custody of the child. This is not true, however, in all states. Some states are […]

As a grandparent, finding out that your child is getting divorced can be a reason for many worries. As custody and visitation rights for the parents are decided you must sit on the sidelines and watch as very important relationships in your life are worked out by others. It can be frustrating and frightening not to know what kind of access you will have to your grandchildren after years of seeing them regularly. When going through such a scenario you probably have a lot of questions. Often we don’t think about our own grandparents rights until the time comes that […]

Grandparents visitation rights are generally limited by family courts as the law is usually less in favor of the grandparents as opposed to the biological parents. However, in cases where both the parents are found to be derelict of their responsibilities or insensitive to the concerns of the child because of their involvement in other avocations which maybe disturbing to child’s well-being, it is possible for the grandparents to seek Grandparents visitation rights. Still the details have to be studied thoroughly because of the difficulties and the  slight differences in legalities from state to state. I go into great detail […]