Who can petition the court for custody or visitation time with your kids? We recently teamed up with another attorney to get a nonparent dismissed from a multi-party custody case for lack of standing.
Parents' rights are fundamental under the U.S. Constitution and state law. Parents are presumed to act in the best interest of their children and can decide who their children can spend time with. Close relatives such as grandparents can intervene when both parents are proveably unfit. Unfitness can include drug use, family violence, child abuse and neglect, and other factors.
Additionally, if the child has lived with a nonparent for at least six months, that person can seek custody. There are other scenarios and this short article is not intended to be a comprehensive take on the subject.
Parents' rights are very strong, and this can be difficult for grandparents and other people who love their grandchildren but have fallen out with the child’s parents and are being denied access. If the parents are fit, there may ultimately be no remedy.
May 25th, 2022
