Grandparent Right to Custody or Visitation in Pennsylvania

GRANDPARENTS' RIGHTS
TO CHILD CUSTODY AND
VISITATION

Grandparents do have certain rights to custody
of their grandchildren, but only in limited
situations. Our Pittsburgh lawyers are available
to assist grandparent custody matters in
Allegheny County, Beaver County, Butler County,
and Washington County.

A grandparent may have the right to exercise
their rights to custody of their grandchildren in
the following limited situations, so long as the
grandparent's contact with their grandchild is in
that child's best interest and it does not interfere
with the parent-child relationship:

The parents were separated for at least six
months.
Here, a grandparent can find himself or herself
without any contact with their grandchild. The
grandparent may the right to pursue an action to
see that you are able to remain a part of the
grandchild's life.

One parent has passed away.
In these cases, the remaining parent often neglects the rights if the deceased
parties' parents.

The child has resided with grandparents for a year or more.
In certain situations, a child resides with his or her grandparents for an extended
period of time. Later, a parent re-enters the picture and removes the child from
the grandparent's home, neglecting the rights of the grandparents who have
provided care.

Overall, Grandparents typically lack standing to seek custody rights under
Pennsylvania law when trying to spend time with their grandchildren. A Court
may, however, allow regular access to grandparents who have an established
relationship with the child.

Grandparents' Rights to Visitation
As mentioned, when an adult child divorces or passes away, grandparents and
step-grandparents often find themselves on the outside, prevented from seeing
their grandchildren. The grandparent may petition the family court for visitation
rights. The court considers the amount and nature of previous contact, and the
impact on children of no longer having grandparents in their life in determining
these cases.

Grandparent Petitions for Custody
As mentioned, grandparents can seek legal custody if they have served in loco
parentis (in the role of parents) for 12 continuous months. The most common
scenario invovles a child being abandoned by a parent, or parents who are in
and out of the child's life because of drug use, incarceration, or intervention by a
child welfare agency on the basis of physical or sexual abuse, neglect or
abandonment, triggering involvement by CYF or CYS. The court can also
terminate parental rights and grant custody to grandparents if the natural parents
are absent or are deemed unfit through formal evaluations.

Grandparents can seek custody through family court by showing that they have
been the primary caregivers (and proving the child's parents are unable or
unwilling to care for the child), although the parents can seek reunification,
however, and thus, this does not involve a true termination of rights. Call today to
speak with a lawyer to evalute your rights in Pennsylvania!