December 2, 2011
Most Grandparents that respond to this site are already deeply embroiled in a struggle for their Grandparent’s rights and that is certainly a huge portion of what we are about here on Caring Grandparents. It tears my heart out to read case studies and stories about loving grandparents that are used as pawns in the highly emotional and shortsighted battles that occur when a family unit is in trouble for whatever reason(s). Many times it is necessary for the grandparents to “bribe” the custody parent just to get Grandparents visitation rights that should be given freely for the child’s sake. […]
November 22, 2011
Yes! & Yes! Please don’t throw tomatoes and rotten eggs at me until you read this post through. Then you may still want to throw them but I don’t think so. I continually state that the whole purpose of my commitment to this issue is “The best interest of the children”. That takes care of the first Yes. To the extent that we continue to put this debate on the table I promise you the children will benefit. I have learned this week that the Supreme Court is considering taking another look at Grandparents Visitation Rights. Regardless of the outcome […]
November 17, 2011
The Connecticut Grandparents visitation rights law has been challenged and the Supreme Court is going to hear the case. This is a mixed blessing as I understand it. The conundrum is that “IF” the supreme court allows the law to stand as it is, it will create a situation where it will not only be Grandparent rights that are recognized and protected, but others as well are invited to participate. The Connecticut law can be interpreted to include any third party interested in the child/children to be allowed to intervene in a court case. This potential for broad interpretation is […]
November 14, 2011
It is comforting to all of us Grandparents to realize that there are great minds going to great lengths to progress our Grandparent’s Rights. People like Michigan attorney Richard S. Victor have dedicated decades to the legal and legislative fight for grandparent rights. He even formed the GRO, Grandparents Rights Organization in 1984. Their web site is www.Grandparentsrights.org. Richard says it better than I ever could; The Grandparents Rights Organization is a national volunteer nonprofit organization founded in 1984 by founder and executive director, attorney Richard S. Victor. It has been qualified as tax-exempt organization under section 501 (a) of […]
November 10, 2011
As grandparents we have come a long way in the quest to create an atmosphere that allows our grandchildren the maximum of love and support in the extended family structure. The good news is that in most cases Grandparents do get to visit with and be a part of their grandkids lives without having to exert their grandparents rights, and that is mutually beneficial for everyone in the family. In addition we are getting closer to my own guiding principal that everything we do as grandparents must be in THE BEST INTEREST OF THE GRANDCHILD. I want to suggest some […]
October 27, 2011
This article is the forward to my book, “No Greater Loss”, offered by Dr. Susanne Taft, Psychologist Children are our legacy and the future. They need all of the resources, encouragement, and belief in their abilities that can be provided to them. Grandparents are a good source for this encouragement and can contribute greatly to their growth and development. In fact, grandparents have experience and knowledge to share that they learned in life and from decisions they made, good and bad, which brought them to their present state. Learning what rights and privileges grandparents have adds to the understanding […]
October 25, 2011
The deeper I dig into the area of Grandparenting and the need for some form of Grandparents rights I find some statistical as well as anecdotal consistencies. I find more and more that extended families with 6-8 grandchildren will be fine with 2/3rds or 3/4ths of the grandkids but may experience trouble with effective visitation and correspondence with that smaller fraction of the family. This is a generalization, of course, but I make it to clarify a point about Grandparenting in general. Statistically there will be a greater challenge if the family unit that is experiencing trouble is headed by […]
October 17, 2011
Reasonable grandparents visitation rights in Kentucky may be awarded to either paternal or maternal grandparents if the court determines that it is in the best interest of the child to do so. These visitation rights may even survive the termination of parental rights belonging to the grandparent’s son or daughter, who is the father or mother of the child, if the court decides that visitation is in the child’s best interest. A grandparent whose child is deceased and who supplies child support for a grandchild can be awarded visitation rights that are the equivalent of a non-custodial parent’s. Grandparents rights […]
October 13, 2011
In the USA there is no uniform grandparents visitation rights law. Each state has its own set of rules loosely based on a the 2000 US Supreme Court decision Troxel. In the state of Virginia, determining Virginia grandparents visitation rights is further complicated by the fact that there is no state statute dedicated to those rights. Instead Virginia addresses custody and visitation in the same set of statutes. The statutes refer to parents and to “persons of legitimate interest,” including but not limited to grandparents, stepparents, former stepparents, blood relatives and family members. A grandparent who is the parent of […]