Grandparent Custody Issues From a Lawyer’s Viewpoint

Grandparents Gaining “Custody” of Their Grandchildren: Why? How? Where?

In an ideal world, children should be reared by a loving and caring two-parent family, having both a Father and a Mother, with plenty of caring relatives to assist with parenting activities during times of stress, need, or illness. Today, we are seeing more and more Grandparents taking on the responsibility of primary child-rearing of their Grandchild or Grandchildren. For the sake of brevity, this article is directed to Grandparents seeking “custody” of one Grandchild though they may, in fact, be seeking “custody” of several Grandchildren. Why are we seeing and reading about this happening or phenomenon?

    1. Some parents have problems with untreated mental illness. Our firm recently assisted Grandparents in gaining “temporary custody” of their young Grandson as the child’s Mother has Bipolar Disorder, aka Manic Depressive Disorder. When she adhered to her medication regime, she could provide safe and effective parenting for her Son. When she decided to discontinue her psychotropic medications, symptoms of her mental illness returned and she was not capable of providing for the needs of her Son.

 

  • Some parents have problems with alcoholism and other addictions. Persons who become physiologically and psychologically dependent upon
… Read More... “Grandparent Custody Issues From a Lawyer’s Viewpoint”

Relocation Issues

Twenty to thirty years ago, there was no issue related to “relocation”. There was a custodial parent, usually the Mother, and a non-custodial parent, usually the Father. If Mother wanted to relocate to return to the home of her family, to join her new husband at his next assignment, or to find a better paying employment position, Mother simply relocated or moved to her next city or state of residence.

Today, the issue of “relocation” has become an issue of much importance. Fathers’ rights have come to the forefront as Fathers have become more involved in the rearing of their children. My Father never changed a diaper, never bathed or dressed me or my siblings, and certainly was not involved in other parenting tasks involving “hands on” care. His primary “job” as Husband and Father was to be the breadwinner for the family!

Many Fathers of today do share in the parenting responsibilities of their children; and, some Fathers have actually been designated as the primary care-givers of their children. Recall Dustin Hoffman in Kramer versus Kramer. Thus, if a Mother decides she wants to move or relocate to another city or state, the affected Father may take an adversarial … Read More... “Relocation Issues”

Page 10 of 10
1 … 8 9 10