How Realistic Is The Grandparent Custody Durham NC Seniors Want

By Amy Morgan


When grown children leave the house most parents assume they will begin their own lives, choose a partner, and hopefully provide grandchildren. Not all seniors anticipate that they may have to face the harsh reality of raising their children's children. Instead of having the freedom of spoiling little ones and then returning them to the parents, they have become the ones charged with disciplining, feeding, clothing, and nurturing another generation. In Durham, NC when they attempt to get official grandparent custody Durham NC seniors often face serious obstacles.

Parenting styles vary from household to household, and sometimes the older generation does not approve of the way their children are handling the day to day challenges of parenting. They may object strongly about everything from what the grandchildren eat to how they are disciplined. There is rarely anything they can do about it however, because removing children from the parental home is something social services and courts try to avoid.

Many people believe parents caught taking illegal drugs automatically lose guardianship of their children, but this is not always the case. Many states do not regard illegal drug activity child abuse. It may take proving parents have involved the minor children in the drug activities. Some states recognize the use of drugs during pregnancy a risk to the unborn child which qualifies as abuse.

Most often parents simply give up their rights to children. They either drop off the children one day and don't return, or gradually leave the children in the grandparents care for longer and longer periods of time until the parent simply drifts away. Most grandparents willingly accept the unexpected responsibility.

Sometimes children lose parents through death or imprisonment. When this happens grandparents can attempt to formalize their custodial relationship in the courts. It can still be difficult, because the judge is not required to give grandparents preferential treatment when it comes custodial rights. Many grandparents maintain an informal status filing paperwork so they have the authority to make medical and educational decisions.

When seniors decide to fight for custodial rights in the courts, they often face difficult challenges. If the minors are already in their care, it is usually easier to convince the legal system to make the relationship formal. Parents who are have been sentenced to long prison terms, have been convicted of child abuse, or have abandoned their children are most at risk of losing legal guardianship.

Grandparents sometimes get very upset when, after they have been awarded custodial rights by the court, one or both of the parents return and want their children back. Seniors sometimes mistakenly assume legal guardianship gives them the same claim to the children as adoption would, but that is incorrect. If parents can convince the courts they are stable and have overcome their difficulties, guardianship is often returned to them.

Tensions can run high when it comes to how children are being raised and what constitutes a loving and stable home. Grandparents are important to their grandchildren, but they are seldom able to replace parents.




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