If you have taken care of your grandchildren informally and do not believe it would be in the best interests of the children to live with their parents again, you should consider taking legal action in family court to obtain orders that the children should stay with you. Before doing this, you should seek advice on the orders required to be eligible for a care payment (see below for more details). If the parental rights of one or both parents have been terminated, the intact nuclear family is disrupted. Only parents of the parent whose rights have expired can request a visitation. For example, if the mother`s parental rights are terminated, the maternal grandparents can request a court-ordered visitation on the basis of that termination. Paternal grandparents cannot do this, even if they fall into a different category of broken families. Links to the state`s grandparent visit laws can be found on the Nolo Network Visit Disclaimer page, a library of consumer-friendly legal information. The Family Law Act specifies that the « best interests of the child » is the primary consideration when making decisions about parenthood. The Family Law Act emphasizes the right of children to know their parents and others who are relevant to their care, well-being and development, such as grandparents and other family members. An intact nuclear family is a family in which a child is raised by a mother and father married to each other. If both parents refuse to allow the grandparent to visit the child, a court cannot order access unless the intact nuclear family has been disturbed. You can only file an application with the court if you have a certificate from an accredited family dispute resolution practitioner stating that dispute resolution has been attempted. There may be fines for a person who turns to court without first attempting to resolve a family dispute.
If there are already court orders stating that the children must live with you and the parents want the children to come back with them, they must contact the court again to request a change in the orders. Parents must prove to the court that their circumstances have changed since the orders were originally issued and that it is in the best interests of the children to be returned to them. If you file a lawsuit for visitation, custody, child support, or other matters affecting the parent-child relationship in custody disputes between two parents, this is called a parent-child relationship lawsuit (STRP). If you are the grandparent and wish to bring this type of lawsuit, you must have had control, care and possession of the child for at least six months in the last 90 days. Even if you lived with the parent and your grandchild during this time, you could still apply for custody as long as you were responsible and took care of them. Family law recognizes the importance for children to have a relationship with their grandparents. Grandparents are explicitly mentioned in the Family Law Act that they can apply to a court for orders that relate to their grandchildren. However, it is important to know that this does not mean that grandparents (or even parents) have an automatic right of contact with children. Sometimes grandparents are discouraged from having a relationship with their grandchildren. This can happen if the relationship with your own child has collapsed (but the parents` relationship remains intact) or if the parents have separated and a parent refuses to let you have anything to do with your grandchildren. It can also happen if you were the primary caregiver for your grandchildren and the children`s parents return to take the children back from their care.
Of course, if you`re asking for custody of a grandchild, it`s safer to hire a lawyer to do the work for you. There will be a lot to do to support your lawyer. If you can`t afford to pay a lawyer and get the forms and submit them yourself, do your homework and know what you`re doing. Keep in mind that if you ask someone else to help you fill out the form correctly, not everyone can help you fill out a custody application form. You could be charged with working as a lawyer without a permit. So make sure that if you have help filling out the form, the person has the legal authority to help you. You can try contacting any type of grandparents who are raising grandchildren throughout your state to see if anyone has any suggestions for you. Some states have programs to help grandparents with forms. Contact your local legal counseling office or law school to see if they have a program to support them. Don`t just ask a law student for help. The person must either be certified to help with these forms or be a lawyer.
Make lots of phone calls and ask a lot of questions if you have to do it yourself without your personal lawyer. You can represent yourself in court. However, court proceedings can be complex and confusing, and it`s always a good idea to seek legal advice on what you should do and how you should prepare your case.
