Brokenhearted Grandparents

October 30, 2010

The Case for Grandparents Rights

Looking at today’s flawed laws  it is not hard to make the case for grandparents rights. By not maintaining adequate laws to protect our children, our legal system has miserably failed them. The antiquated laws governing grandparents rights need to be revised to reflect the times we live in. More and more children’s childhoods will be destroyed, leaving them to become part of the juvenile justice system or suffer at the hands of their parents or unfit guardians. If the […]
October 23, 2010

The touchy subject of parental abuse

The most serious allegation that you can attempt to prove in court is that of abuse or neglect of the child. Therefore, if you make this allegation you can expect a spirited denial from the parent whom you charge with such an action or pattern of actions. Such actions can not only cause a parent to lose a child permanently but also lead to criminal charges. It is important to remember that if you suspect the abuse of a child […]
October 11, 2010

The importance of Caring Grandparents

Caring grandparents love to spoil their grandchildren and have special feelings for them. In some cases, grandparents are unable to have a close relationship with their grandchildren because of health issues and other reasons but this does not mean that the grandparents don’t love or want to see their grandchildren and this is something that the parents must think about. When a couple divorces they must decide or let the court decide, which parent the children will live with and […]
September 23, 2010

My New Grandparents Rights Book – Now Available

I have just published the definitive volume on Grandparents Rights today. My new book No Greater Loss: The Guidebook to Today’s Grandparents Rights is now available in print. It contains everything you need to know about Grandparents Rights regarding visitation, custody, guardianship and much more. I have written this book to help bridge the gap between Logic and Law. Grandparents have provided and still provide so much caring continuity in our extended families…and yet there is a danger that these […]
August 20, 2010

When do grandparents rights apply?

Grandparents have always had limited rights to visitation and custody of their grandchildren, and in 2000 the US Supreme Court limited these rights even further through its decision in the case of Troxell v. Granville. Currently the laws vary in each state. It is important to understand, however, that there are still some situations where a grandparent may have legal rights regarding a grandchild. Although a grandparent in many states lacks the ability to petition the court for custody of […]
July 16, 2010

Can grandparents really obatin custody of their grandchildren?

Under very specific circumstances grandparents CAN be granted custody rights of their grandchildren. When one parent is deceased the other surviving parent typically obtains custody of the child as long as they are seen as fit by the court. This is a very hard standard to overcome, although obviously in some instances including jailed parents, drug use, child abuse, abject poverty or other social ills the courts can decide to give custody to another party, including a grandparent. If both […]
July 3, 2010

Divorce and grandparents rights

When a couple divorces it affects each person in the family a different way. Children share a special bond with each parent and it is a very difficult time for them. A divorce can affect children negatively for months, and sometimes much longer. Grandparents are also people in the family that are hurt by divorce. A divorce changes people’s lives around and it is hard for all involved to adjust to these changes. While everyone is worried in a divorce […]
June 21, 2010

Becoming aware of your grandparents rights in custody situations

These days many grandparents have taken on the primary role as parents to their grandchildren. Issues like drugs, poverty, child abuse and other social ills have caused many grandparents to become the caregivers for their grandchildren. If you are a grandparents who is actually providing primary care for your grandchildren you may need to take affirmative steps to protect your grandparents rights in the case that your grandchildren’s parents later come back and wish to assert their own custody or […]
June 19, 2010

Issues surrounding grandparents custody

Grandparents custody is on the rise these days, and this may very well be due to the percentages of marriage that end in divorce. Also the premature death of a parent, parental problems with drugs or jail sentences, or  financial problems tied to these tough times can cause grandparents to have to take responsibility for their grandkids. There is a lot of happiness that comes along with raising grandchildren, but there are also many problems that can come about along […]