Grandparent’s Right to Custody

When it comes to awarding custody of a child to the grandparents, often times the grandparents are left without much recourse.  Parents have a natural and a legal right to the custody of their children.  Thus, a court will award custody to the parent absent any strong, clear and convincing evidence that the parent or parents are unfit to provide care for their child.  Where the parent has been shown to have the ability to care for the child, the person has an absolute right to custody over any right of a nonparent.

If the court determines that the parent is unfit, the court will then look to the close relatives of the child.  If the court finds that there is a close relative who is fit, ready, able, and willing, then custody should be awarded to that relative.

If the child is of sufficient age and intelligence, the court will consider the child’s preference when determining custody to a parent or nonparent.  But it should be noted that such preference is not controlling.