Parental Rights & Obligations

questions & answers

Question: Our 17 year old daughter just had a baby out of wedlock. Do we have rights of say so over our grandson since she is a minor?

Answer:

There is no statute that gives a grandparent a right to make decisions pertaining to a grandchild’s upbringing. In fact, a court must “recognize and apply a presumption that a fit parent acts in his or her child’s best interests in decisions concerning the child’s care, custody, and control, including decisions concerning grandparent visitation.” Rosen v. Roger, 1 Ca-CV 08-0110, at ¶16. (Ariz. App. Ct. 2009). For more information on this and other related cases please visit a law library.  Many law libraries can be found at the local Superior Court use the  Court Locator to find one.

 

A.R.S. 8-533 covers what a court looks to when determining if a parent is unfit. Some of the grounds are: if the parent has abandoned the child, if the parent has neglected or willfully abused the child or let someone else abuse the child, or that the parent is unable to discharge parental responsibilities because of mental illness, mental deficiency or a history of chronic abuse of dangerous drugs, controlled substances or alcohol and there are reasonable grounds to believe that the condition will continue for a prolonged indeterminate period.