Grandmother Having Been Raising a Child and Now Needing to Seek Some Rights.

First i want to say that her parents seem extremely irresponsible. I know i would never leave my mother to raise my kids. That said it sound like you are getting the right stuff together. If you can prove the father's addiction to prescription drugs that can label him as an unfit parent. Also have you ever saved the list of stuff they want you to bring when dropping off your granddaughter? That can be used to show how little they claim their daughter. You should also get references from the school like her teacher saying how balanced and happy she is while living with you.

good luck to you. i hope you get your granddaughter.

For starters, you need to petition the Court right away for temporary custody and request that both parents be drug tested randomly and that your granddaughter be placed in your custody until they complete treatment programs, parenting programs and can financially support their daughter.

By providing copies of the school reports, etc., it will help prove that you have been the sole caregiver of your granddaughter. You do have legal rights wherein if her mother or father are unfit right now, you absolutely have the right to step in and ask for temporary custody so she can continue to be enrolled in her classes and activities. I do work in the legal system so I can at least tell you that much. Good luck to you!

Hi, N.:

Find a family mediator in your area to help resolve these issues or contact your local Social Service department and ask for a family decision making conference.

check the web for a family mediator in your area. Make sure to talk to them first before making a decision.

www.phillymediators.com or org
I don't know which one.

Good luck. D.

every state is different, and unfortunately, by not seeking guardianship earlier, im not sure where you stand.

as am immediate intervention, if you are truley in fear if she stays there, you would call child services and discuss with them the situation. the problem with this is, if they decide in his favor, he will probaly not let you see her in the future. but if you really fear for her safety, its the right thing to do.

aside from that, you may want to call up the welfare office and ask about the situation. if you can prove, via all your grandaughters records, that she lived with you for all these years, both parents may be charged with fraud if they had been claiming her the whole time. but again, you would need to contact your local office.

at the very least, in your situation with proof of whats going on, if they didnt let you see your grandaughter, your state may honor grandparents visitation and im sure in your case, it would be granted.

the main problem i see is that your daughter is still on his side. anything you may want to do in your favor to have your grandaughter removed from their home will harm your relationship with your daughter. then you have to worry about in the future, her regaining custody.

im sorry you are in this situation. find a couple of lawyers who give free consultations. that way you can ask each one a few questions in the free time to get a grasp on any options. if it seems that you either cant afford the fight, or they honestly tell you it wont go anywhere, take a breath and decide if she is in danger, and if you really want to push them. it could either save her or take her away from you forever. act fast if you plan on acting, as each day she is there, it will not help your situation. i hope you can find a lawyer to help and i hope your grandaughter is well and being cared for. good luck to you.

I would speak to a lawyer. I dont know what the laws are in your state but i do know that in mn grandparents do have rights if they have raised the child for more than a year i think it is and if it will cause emotional damage to the child they have rights for visitation, etc. I would hire a good lawyer find out your rights in your state and fight for custody even. They have not been parents and need help and a stable life before they can raise a daughter. Document everything and do what you can. Who knows if your granddaughter is in danger or not, but im sure she is not totally happy because im sure she misses you and her stable life. She can night fight for herself so you need to fight for her. Good luck and i hope everything works out for the best.

You need to speak to a lawyer. Unfortunately you don't really have any rights to your granddaughter. Only parents have rights to their children. If social services becomes involved in the situation, you could step forward to them as a potential guardian for the child. But until she is actually removed legally from their custody, you can't take on that role officially. It's certainly good to keep all those documents together and ready. Speak to a lawyer to see if there are more options. Maybe you would qualify for legal aid or a law school's pro bono project.

I feel for you, we are raising several of our grandchildren and have been in the same boat. If you have just been babysitting the child then the parents can say you have not been given any legal rights to make choices for her in their place. If these organizations have been letting you sign legal documents and such without having guardianship then they could get into trouble. if you have a letter stating you can make these decisions then that is all the legal authority you have.

There are organizations out there for Grandparents Raising Grandchildren and you should look up some in your area, they will know what you should do next, most of them have been through it.

hi im looking for some help to get money for im looking after my granddaughter and her mum has been getting her money and not sending none for her down to me

I dont know what the rights in your state is but you might have more rights then you know...in Pa there is grandparents rights and as long as a child as spent at least a year in your care even if the parents lived with you to you have as much right with her as her parents...the sooner you look into something the better GL my thoughts will be with you..