Grandparent Custody Issues From a Lawyer’s Viewpoint

grandparents custody

Grandparents Custody In Ohio

PUBLISHER’S NOTE: Tomorrow is National Grandparents Day. While perhaps it is not a well recognized day, it should be. Grandparents are raising more and more children every year. In addition, the importance of their role in our society can not be overstated. This article posted on the Ohio Family Law Blog 10 years ago by Anne Shale, still serves as an excellent primer about grandparent custody in Ohio. In honor of all the grandparents out there, I want to say “thank you” for all your efforts, sacrafices and the love that you share!”

Grandparents Gaining “Custody” of Their Grandchildren: Why? How? Where?

In an ideal world, children should be reared by a loving and caring two-parent family, having both a Father and a Mother, with plenty of caring relatives to assist with parenting activities during times of stress, need, or illness. Today, we are seeing more and more Grandparents taking on the responsibility of primary child-rearing of their Grandchild or Grandchildren.… View Full Article → “Grandparent Custody Issues From a Lawyer’s Viewpoint”

Another Same-Sex Parenting Rights Issue Upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court

Alert Key Legal Update

U.S. Supreme Court Upholds Arizona Supreme Court Same-Sex Custody Case Decision

The U.S. Supreme Court declined on February 22, 2018, to hear an appeal of a case where the Arizona Supreme Court found that a lesbian woman should be recognized as the legal parent of the child she and her former wife conceived through artificial insemination during their marriage.

The case, stems from a custody dispute between Kimberly McLaughlin and Suzan McLaughlin.  The couple was legally married in California in 2008, and chose to have a child via artificial insemination and an anonymous sperm donor.  In 2011, Kimberly gave birth to the couple’s son.  Two years later, she left with the child and cut off all communication between Suzan and their son.  Upon filing for divorce, Suzan sought parenting time based upon an Arizona law regarding the presumption of parentage.  Specifically, the law states that a child born to a woman within 10 months of her marriage is presumed to be biologically related to the father.… View Full Article → “Another Same-Sex Parenting Rights Issue Upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court”

Shared Parenting: Kentucky Governor Signs New Law, Is Ohio Behind the Times?

How Does The New Shared Parenting Law Signed In Kentucky Impact Ohio?

Kentucky took a step closer on April 12, 2017 to making shared parenting in instances of divorce the norm in the state.  House Bill 492, received unanimous support in both the House and Senate.  The new law was also supported by an overwhelming amount of research showing it is in a child’s best interest to have as close to equal time with both parents in instances of divorce, particularly early on in the process.

“Children are now more likely to see both parents regularly after a divorce, which is a huge win for the children of Kentucky considering research consistently shows shared parenting is in the best interest of children when their parents divorce,” said Matt Hale, Chair of National Parents Organization of Kentucky. “Plus, parents are no longer in the high-conflict winner win all and loser lose all situation”.… View Full Article → “Shared Parenting: Kentucky Governor Signs New Law, Is Ohio Behind the Times?”

Military Custody Law Update For Deployed Members

Congress Passes Law Affording Military Custody Protection to Our Deployed Servicemembers

Deployment Can No Longer Be Held Against Military Parent In Child Custody Disputes


Left to Right: Lt. Eva Slusher, her daughter Sara Slusher and Mike Turner

For 8 years, Michael R. Turner, R.-Ohio, has been calling for Congress to afford its military members child custody protection while deployed; it appears they finally listened.

In February 2010 and February 2011, Anne Shale posted articles entitled, “They Fight for America and Upon Return Must Fight for Their Children” and “BREAKING NEWS: Secretary of Defense Gates Changes Position to Protect Custodial Parents Deployed Overseas!” articles addressed Turner’s arduous fight to persuade lawmakers to amend the National Defense Authorization Act (“NDAA”) to provide military members child custody protections while deployed overseas.  Tuner was inspired in 2007 when he met Lt. Eva Slusher, a member of the Kentucky National Guard, who lost custody of her daughter after returning home from a deployment in 2004 because according to the judge, “the military lifestyle is not stable and is not conducive to raising children.”  … View Full Article → “Military Custody Law Update For Deployed Members”

Custody Issues: How To Avoid International Child Abduction

Important Custody Steps to Take to Avoid Child Abduction Overseas

Strong Custody Prevention Key In Avoiding International Child Abduction

Our guest contributor this week is Judianne Cochran a nationally recognized expert/consultant in the following disciplines: sex offender profiling; interstate and international parental abduction; interstate custody and parental alienation. She has testified in numerous Courts throughout Ohio and the country. Judi presently resides in Columbus, Ohio. This is a follow-up article to Parental Abduction: Prevention and Remedies posted by Judi on October 31, 2009.

There have been many laws and treaties put in place in recent years to assist in the prevention of international abduction.  However, I have been seeing a new complacency in the family court system that has begun to ignore the need for strong prevention, thus further thwarting a parent’s ability to be involved with their child.  Judges in many jurisdictions have been ordering that the objecting parent cooperate in obtaining passports for their children so the foreign national parent can remove the child from the country, often to non-Hague signatory countries.… View Full Article → “Custody Issues: How To Avoid International Child Abduction”

Custody Case Change – The Requirements

What Legal Requirements Must Be Established For A Custody Case Change In Ohio?

This is a follow-up article to guest contributor Judianne Cochran’s post of March 1, 2014 titled “Custody Issues: Post-Decree Modification in Ohio”.

In that article Judi focused primarily on the importance of hiring a seasoned family law lawyer that frequently litigates post-decree custody matters.  In this article I want to discuss the legal requirements that must be provided to be successful in a change of custody case.

If you are looking to modify your divorce decree, one of the first major obstacles you will face is determining whether or not you have met the standard for a “change of circumstances” which is required before any modification can occur.  There are a few resources we can look to that provide insight as to what this amounts to, including case law and statutes.

Statute:

Ohio Revised Code Section 3109.04 (E)(1)(a) gives us a quick glimpse and some stern words on what it takes to meet the “change of circumstances” required.… View Full Article → “Custody Case Change – The Requirements”

Custody Issues: Post-Decree Modification in Ohio

Several Things To Know If You File To Modify Your Post-Decree Custody Order

Hire A Qualified Family Law Attorney To Present And Argue Your Custody Case

Our guest contributor this week is Judianne Cochran a nationally recognized expert/consultant in the following disciplines: sex offender profiling; interstate and international parental abduction; interstate custody and parental alienation. She has testified in numerous Courts throughout Ohio and the country. Judi presently resides in Columbus, Ohio.

There are several issues that you need to address if you have decided that you need to modify your original custody order.  The first is whether your case meets the necessary criteria for modification – the primary of which is a “change of circumstance”.  One thing you must understand is that this does NOT include the myth that at a certain age the child can make a choice – this is not supported by law. A child’s wishes may be considered but are not valid grounds to modify a custody order.  … View Full Article → “Custody Issues: Post-Decree Modification in Ohio”

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