family

January 12, 2018

WHEN CARING ISN’T ENOUGH

LAST RESORT   In the present landscape of Grandparents Rights we are limited to just a few tools. Most of you reading this have already exhausted the common sense approach of appealing to reason. Whatever the reason for the breakdown in the relationship it is still important that we use all the tools at our disposal. A good first step is to gather all evidence of your ongoing and meaningful relationship with your Grandchild. This should include pictures, letters, card, […]
January 2, 2018

THE POWER DYNAMIC ABOUT GRANDPARENTS RIGHTS.

  There would be little need for any Grandparents Rights legislation, family court and/or mediation if it wasn’t for all of the power dynamics, manipulation and or perceived slights that seem to permeate families. By the time things get to the point of a “Rights struggle” there has been a lot of water under the bridge. I hear a lot of stories that begin in the Labor and Delivery room at the hospital. Many more come of marriage breakups, etc. […]
February 24, 2017

WHY THE QUEST FOR GRANDPARENTS RIGHTS IS SO HARD.

Whenever I am called on to explain why Grandparents Rights is such a tough subject I find myself deflecting  the question. The answer(s) are many and very complicated. A lot of why it is hard is that we all start too late. Most Grandparents wait til there is family unit stability trouble on the horizon to start worrying about the potential that they may not see as much of their grands as they wish. In some cases it is whether […]
February 21, 2017

CONNECTING WITH GRANDCHILDREN

It is easy to forget the rules of good human relations when we are talking to our Grandkids. One of the tenants of my Dale Carnegie training is that we should speak in terms of the others interests. This is especially true when it comes to our beloved grands. We tend to miss the part about them growing up. As you know it doesn’t serve us well to talk to an eight year old boy the same way we might […]
February 20, 2017

The need for Grandparents Rights is directly related to your place in the family structure.

BLISS   If you are the Paternal Grandparents of a family that is experiencing difficulties you are much more vulnerable to troubled waters when it comes to spending time with your Grandkids. The reasons for this are many and very complicated but the facts still remain the same. Let’s first consider that the courts, whenever possible, will honor the wishes of the parents. The greatest weight of this is given to the mother unless circumstances dictate differently. The adage about […]
February 10, 2017

GRANDPARENTS RIGHTS ARE DIFFERENT EVEN IN THE SAME FAMILY

If you have more than one child with children of there own you are probably struck by how different the Grandparenting experience is from one extended family to the others. No matter what your relationship is with your own children you have now added a spouse to each of your own kids. That spouse brings a totally different set of life and familial experiences to your family. When Grandkids are added to the mix ……….You can see where this gets […]
March 1, 2015

THE STATE OF GRANDPARENTS RIGHTS Part 5 of 8

Another  one of the 6 issue Senator East wanted considered was; 4) If access to courts to adjudicate Grandparents Visitation Rights is to be permitted, who shall bear the cost of that litigation? “The Uniform Marriage and Divorce Act gives the court discretion to assign one party’s cost and attorney fees to another party, based upon a consideration of the resources of both parties. This is an example of what has been done to allocate costs when they become a […]
November 22, 2011

IS THERE A WINNER IN PARENTS vs GRANDPARENTS RIGHTS?

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 […]
November 14, 2011

WHO IS FIGHTING FOR OUR GRANDPARENTS RIGHTS?

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 […]