Grandparents Beware

October 29, 2010

Should I hire an attorney to seek my grandparents rights?

Although you will find more information about how to select and obtain an attorney in my book No Greater Loss the first question you must ask when considering filing for custody of your grandchildren is what is at stake? Once you decide on the importance of your efforts that should help you decide whether to hire an attorney. Although there are no hard and fast rules about hiring an attorney, the following general rules will likely apply to your case […]
October 26, 2010

Grandparents Rights in Divorce Agreements

One of the best times to ask for grandparents visitation rights is when the parents of your grandchildren are in the process of getting a divorce. Timing of agreements is important. Your best chance at having visitation rights is if they are stated in the separation agreement and that normally becomes part of the divorce decree. If the case involves parents who are divorced the courts will look at the divorce settlement and the custody and visitation arrangements already made. […]
October 17, 2010

Grandparents rights in custody situations

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 wishes. This can often be done by obtaining legal guardianship over the grandchildren, or by actually obtaining an order of custody. However you need to know the laws of custody and of your state to do […]
October 14, 2010

The Troxell case and Grandparents Rights

Anyone interested and involved with grandparents rights needs to be aware of the Troxel case and its subsequent implications on grandparents rights. The Supreme Court issued this ruling with a 6-3 decision in June of 2000. It cancelled out a state law in Washington which permitted courts to grant visitation rights to any interested party as long as it was in the best interest of the child. The Troxel v. Granville came about in 1993 when two grandparents asked for […]
October 9, 2010

Should I consider filing for visitation with my grandchildren?

This is a question I get asked all the time by grandparents who are feeling shut out of their grandchildrens’ lives. Some amount of conflict between parents and grandparents over the raising of children is common. If you are having difficulty seeing your grandchildren the first (and second) options should be to attempt to negotiate and mediate a compromise with the parents. If you can avoid going to court you should do so. There is a lot of information on […]
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 7, 2010

Knowing what judges consider about grandparents rights just in case

Grandparents rights cases rarely go as far as the courts, but even in those that don’t make it there it is important for grandparents to understand the factors a judge considers so that they have some leverage in negotiating their rights out of court. In actual court cases the importance of preserving and maintaining an existing relationship between the child and their grandparents will be weighed against the custodial parent’s need to exercise their parental rights and veto such visitation […]
July 29, 2010

First steps in establishing your grandparents rights

Are you having problems seeing your grandchild after a difficult divorce involving their parents? If so, the first thing you need to do is learn about the visitation laws in the state where your grandchild lives. State law is not going to give you the right to visit your grandchild automatically, but in some states you have the ability to ask a court for visitation rights. In those states, a judge will make the final decision after looking at your […]
July 27, 2010

How to establish your grandparents rights

You don’t need to spend a fortune on a lawyer to go over your grandparents rights with you. Fortunately, there is a helpful resource in The Custody Center that spares you the pain of high legal fees and will get you informed and up to date on exactly what your grandparents rights are in your situation. By using the resources of The Custody Center instead of a lawyer you can easily make yourself informed of your grandparents rights but at […]