Mountain Views News          Saturday, September 17, 2016

B3

BUSINESS NEWS & TRENDS

 Mountain Views News Saturday, September 17, 2016 


FAMILY MATTERS By Marc Garlett


THE LEGAL RIGHTS OF 
GRANDPARENTS

 

The bond between grandparent and grandchild 
is a special one. We’ve all heard that old saying, 
“grandparenting is the grand reward for 
parenting.” My own parents, and my in-laws, and 
everyone else with grandchildren I talk to say there 
is nothing better than being a grandparent.

 But what happens when the grandparent 
becomes the parent? Or when parents’ divorce 
or one parent dies and a grandparents’ visitation 
rights are taken away? 

 You need to be aware of certain legal 
considerations if your child has a close relationship 
with your parents, or if you are a grandparent 
who wants to maintain relationship with your 
grandkids no matter what. On the other hand, 
those who don’t have relationships with their 
parents and want to ensure their child doesn’t 
either, have their own set of legal concerns. 

 Let’s begin with the first scenario: your child 
has a close relationship with your parents, that 
you want to maintain, no matter what. In that 
case, you must put it in writing. You may even 
want to consider the nomination of your parents 
as the legal guardians of your child or children. 
Otherwise, if something were to happen to you, 
your parents could lose custody or even visitation 
rights. 

 This is an even bigger risk if you are a divorced 
parent. If you were to die, and your child’s other 
parent or other grandparents were to fight or 
attempt to deny your parents’ visitation, your 
known and documented wishes that your parents 
maintain a relationship with your child could be 
pivotal.

 If you are a grandparent reading this, make sure 
your child has legally named guardians for your 
grandchild and documented their wishes so that 
you do not have to suffer through a protracted 
court battle, created because your child didn’t take 
the simple action to legally document his or her 
choices now.

 In the event that you know you would never want 
your parents raising your child, it’s just as critical 
for you to name legal guardians. Quite often, if 
both parents have become unable to care for their 
child due to death or incapacity, grandparents are 
one of the first options the Court system would 
consider as caregivers for the child.

 But, maybe you would choose someone else, 
or perhaps you would even want there to be 
restrictions on the care or visitation of your child 
by your parents. In that case, you must legally 
document your choices. You can even create a 
confidential exclusion of guardianship, if you want 
to ensure someone in particular never gets custody 
of your child.

 Finally, if you are a grandparent who has already 
become the primary caretaker for your grandchild, 
you will want to take the steps of naming legal 
guardians for the child or children in your care, 
too, in case anything happens to you.

 Being a grandparent is a privilege as well as 
a responsibility. It is up to you to ensure the 
grandchild-grandparent relationship – whatever 
that looks like in your family – is taken into 
account and protected, no matter what.

 Dedicated to your family’s health, wealth, and 
happiness,

A local attorney and father, Marc Garlett is on a 
mission to help parents protect what they love most. 
His office is located at 49 S. Baldwin Ave., Ste. G, 
Sierra Madre, CA 91024. Schedule an appointment 
to sit down and talk about ensuring a legacy of love 
and financial security for your family by calling 
626.587.3058 or visit www.GarlettLaw.com for more 
information.


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