Grandparents' Rights

questions & answers

Question: I'm 19 years old and I have full custody of my 5 year old daughter, I was planning of moving out to a different state with my boyfriend. My mother is threatening me saying she wants to take my daughter away from me, can she do that?

Answer: Generally only a parent with custody has the right to decide where a child lives. A grandparent does not have the right to decide where the child lives and cannot take the child from the parent. Arizona Revised Statute 8-533 details how a person can petition a parent-child relationship to be terminated as well as the factors that the court will consider when determining whether to terminate the relationship.  A grandparent or other person could however make a complaint to Department of Child Safety if there was a concern for the child’s safety or they could petition the court to terminate the parent child relationship. If there was a determination that the parent with custody was not capable of properly caring for the child, then the court may grant custody to a grandparent or another person.