You do not have to be a lawyer to recognize that today’s children are being raised in large numbers by third-parties, ranging from grandparents to relatives to friends and total strangers. Knowing how important stability is to a child’s sense of well-being, many third-parties mistakenly believe that they can just file in court and obtain “custody” since they are raising someone else’s children. However, the United States Supreme Court has determined that natural (and ... Read More
27
Aug2019
08
Jan2019
Yes, in some cases. Nationally as well as in Indiana, grandparents are increasingly raising their adult children’s children. Sometimes this is just being great and helpful grandparents. In some cases, such as a parent going back to school or distant work relocation, parents must do so to better their lives, but in others, they do so for legally impermissible reasons, such as addiction issues; these parents simply leave their children with grandparents to raise. For all practical purposes, the grandparents take over the role of caregiver and provide all the support, shelter, ... Read More
18
Jun2018
Today, millions of children are being raised by grandparents, friends, neighbors, and sometimes, total strangers. This trend is growing each year. In this situation, these individuals acting as “parents” have no legal rights to the children they are raising, despite the fact they are providing for all aspects of their physical and emotional well-being. Practically speaking, this reality can create a multitude of problems for the caretakers, from enrolling the children in school to obtaining health care. All the ... Read More
19
Feb2018
In many homes across America today, a grandparent (or third party) is the one raising a child or children of the biological parents. This may be for many reasons; typically, it is due to the instability of a parent, physical or mental health issues, drug use, incarceration of a parent or a pure lack of the ability and/or desire of a biological parent, well, to parent. This blog addresses what happens when a grandparent (or third party) becomes a bonded caregiver for ... Read More
01
Dec2017
Raising Someone Else’s Children
A word that has almost vanished from common conversations is the term “nuclear” family. This conjured up the notion of a mother, father, two children (a boy and a girl), family dog, and the proverbial white fence. Now children are routinely shared between same-sex parents, divorced parents or have a single parent.
However, there are tens of thousands of children being raised by neighbors, other family members, or a trusted friend of parents. Sometimes the children are abandoned, not supported or contacted ... Read More
04
Jan2017
"Do I need an Attorney if I'm am contacted by CPS about my child in Indiana?"
Each year Indiana Child Protective Services receives and investigates thousands of calls about suspected child abuse or neglect from a host of individuals ranging from doctors to teachers to counselors. Their job is to investigate and, if necessary, file a request for a Child in Need of Services case to be prosecuted. Many parents wonder when and if they should ... Read More
07
Jul2016
All issues involving child custody and child support have significant social, political, economic and psychological dynamics operating within the legal system and controlling laws. Two key policies that support the law is to maintain the child with a style of living as if the parents were married and meet the child’s best interests.
In the very broad area, this blog post explores three trends that are slowly changing domestic law across the country: joint custody, child support ending at age 18, and third parties ... Read More
15
Oct2015
Daily news stories and life experiences demonstrate to us all that third parties, such as neighbors, friends, and grandparents are helping more and more to raise children. Sometimes disputes like divorce causes such third parties to be removed from a care-giving role that they want to continue and perhaps the children need for security and stability. This blog post explores this topic.
Third parties always have one big legal hurdle to overcome, although many have done so in Indiana and other states. This is a parent’s fundamental ... Read More
17
Feb2015
In the past 40 years, the number us U.S. Children living in a grandparents home and being cared for by grandparents had more than doubled.1 This does number does not include the significant numbers of children being reared by friends and other family. With infants and toddlers, the caretaker may become the child’s primary attachment.
However, parents, even ones who effectively abandon his/her child and come back later, have a fundamental right under the United States Constitution to raise their children and seek their return. Under present Indiana law, a grandparent ... Read More
05
Jun2014
According the Census Bureau, in 2009, 7.8 million children lived with at least one grandparent, a 64% increase since 1991, when 4.7 million children lived with a grandparent1. While the census only addresses grandparents raising their grandchildren, this is a strong indicator of trends in society wherein more third parties (grandparents, aunts/uncles, friends, etc.) are raising the children of other people. When these situations present themselves, there are many legal issues that need to be addressed.
First, as a general rule, there is a strong ... Read More