While there does exist more and more case law around Grandparents rights the burden is still on the Grandparent and the state in which the grandchild resides to find and exercise what rights we do have.
I have written extensively on the site about preemptive strategies (i.e., my support of my granddaughter in her drama efforts in the photos below), as well as success stories about legal remedies in some cases. Each day we read about more access for Grandparents to the use of the courts to get some relief. I wish I could say that the course is easy or even fair but a better word to describe it is arduous.
I have lamented the lack of Grandparents Rights in our Constitution as well as why that might be. I have reported on efforts of Senator John East in 1983 to submit for the record a statement from the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws, concerning Grandparents Rights, to the Senate Subcommittee on the Separation of Powers. This was an inquiry to see if Grandparents Rights could be codified into Federal Law.
Because of the essential and appropriate mentions in our Constitution of Parents Rights it is up to the states to expand the law to include Grandparents rights.
I will be sussing this out in future posts. In the mean time I hope you are the most Caring Grandparent you can be given your circumstances.