QUESTION
Can grandparents who have a strong bond with their grandchild help the divorced parent who is trying to keep the child in his home state?
Asked on May 18th, 2016 on Child Custody - Idaho
More details to this question:
Our daughter and son-in-law are divorced. They have shared custody of five-year-old son. Chandra wants to obtain sole custody and move from Idaho to California with the son. Marc opposes this, and so do we, Chandra's parents. We cared for the grandson on a weekly basis for years, and since January 2016 Chandra has not let us see him. She is so insecure that she can't let anyone stay in her son's life who loves him. She pushed us out, and now she's pushing out the son's dad. We'd like to help our ex-son-in-law keep his son in Idaho. Do we have any standing?
1 ANSWER
That's a really tough situation. The short answer is: It depends, but if your daughter or son-in-law are more or less decent parents and not homeless, you probably don't have a case. From the few facts you've provided, you have these possibe avenues: a petition for legal guardianship of your grandchild, a petition for grandparent visitation rights under Idaho Code Section brought under Idaho code Section 32-719. I think you'd need an attorney to pursue this. It's got twists and turns and constitutional issues. merrisnaugle.com
Answered on May 19th, 2016 at 8:49 PM