neil

If you ask to your friend or your colleagues, most of them will tell you that grandparents do not have common law grandparents rights to see their grandchildren if the parents object. And for the most part, these people are right in some respects. Interestingly, there is no basis in constitutional law regarding grandparent visitation rights in the United States. However it is important to know that grandparents can be entitled to visitation rights with grandchildren in some cases. In order for a grandparent to obtain such visitation rights, the grandparent may have to present evidence to the court that […]

Grandparents rights in Utah are a contentious issue as they are in every state. Of course, as everywhere many people in Utah believe that family is the most important thing in life. Families bring happiness and grief to individuals living in Ogden, Salt Lake, Provo, St. George, and the rest of Utah. The importance of families contributes to the reason why there is so much emotion in family law issues such as child custody.  Because of the importance of families in individuals’ lives, the Utah State Legislature has recognized that family members besides a mother and father have certain visitation rights […]

Texas’ concept of grandparents rights is in line with many of the other states I have examined. As always, to get the best overview of grandparents rights in the USA search through my website Caring Grandparents and read my book No Greater Loss. It pretty much goes without saying that everything behind grandparents rights can be incredibly emotional.When grandparents have to seek legal intervention to just see their grandchildren, emotions abound on all sides of the spectrum with the grandparents, the parents, and the children involved. When parents feel it is necessary to deny access to the grandparents, emotions also […]

Every Wednesday, the La Mesa Patch Moms Council poses a question and invites your wisdom—and chimes in themselves. This Wed they choose to let me speak about grandparents rights, and add their views…. LMPMC: Neil Taft on Grandparents Rights

Grandparents in Michigan are entitled to grandparents custody and visitation under certain circumstances, but their rights may be subject to parental consent. Primarily, it is the child’s parents’ decision to determine whether a grandparent may visit with a child or not. Most often, grandparents will need to assert their rights only if they have been denied visitation by a child’s parents or custodian. Grandparents’ rights must serve the best interests of the child. If the child’s parent, who is related to the grandparent, is deceased, grandparent may petition the court for grandparenting time. A court will prefer to award custody […]

As everywhere, grandparents rights in Louisiana are a complicated and tangled affair. I’ll do my best to explain the current situation. More information on grandparents rights in general and an explanation of many of these terms and legal concepts can be found on my website Caring Grandparents and in my book No Greater Loss. About 30% of adults in the U.S. are grandparents, and the number of children living with their grandparents has markedly increased in the last 20 years – by as much as 50%. The 2010 census for Louisiana indicated that about 11% of children live with a […]

One of the difficulties when dealing with grandparents rights is that the laws vary so much depending on your state. Grandparent rights in South Carolina have changed several times due to legal decisions. In some families, the grandparents are an important part of a family’s life and are able to see their grandchildren on a regular basis. In other families, though, the parents of the children may keep them away from the grandparents for their own personal reasons. The rights of a grandparent to be a part of their grandchild’s life varies by state, including South Carolina. In South Carolina, […]

I think most people would agree when we look back at our own childhoods that Grandma and Grandad play a very important role in our lives, especially if they live close by and they are in regular contact. Suddenly removing this bond can be devastating to the grandchild and throw the grandparents into emotional turmoil. This situation can suddenly come about for many reasons and because of this every case has to be treated individually. Grandparents rights are dealt with differently in many states and every state has it’s own laws which can be very confusing. What does seem to […]

Most of us know about the various battles that can happen in the court after a divorce regarding the custody of the child. You might have wondered, how does the court decide which parent gets the custody of the child? The main question the courts consider in deciding the custody of a child is: what is in the best interest of the child? This principle is connected to grandparents rights, which are the rights permit the grandparents to take a standing in the court on behalf of the child. How does the court know what is in the best interest […]

Across the country hundreds of thousands of grandparents raising grandchildren do not get sufficient rights or help. They gladly take on the role as the primary caregiver, but they hope to gain some of the same support afforded to foster parents. Grandparents from across the state and country are rallying to raise awareness about the lack of support they receive, in contrast to the foster care system, when raising grandchildren. The fourth annual Grand Rally is taking place today in Washington, DC. Groups of grandparents left from many different states Thursday heading to Washington. They say once there, they’ll join […]