Can child custody be willed to grandparents by mother over biological father.

[rose5admt]

My daughter is divorced, mother of 2, her ex husband isn't currently in the childrens lives. She would like her father and I to be awarded custody should she die. The concerns for her children are great, her daughter, my grandaughter, is disabled, requiring special care her father would not provide. The fear of a less than caring person obtaining custody of this special child and her brother is unsettling. We are young grandparents (50's) so still capable and willing to handle this, although we pray we never have to. Would a Will or Living Trust be sufficient in Florida?

 

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

My daughter is divorced, mother of 2, her ex husband isn't currently in the childrens lives. She would like her father and I to be awarded custody should she die. The concerns for her children are great, her daughter, my grandaughter, is disabled, requiring special care her father would not provide. The fear of a less than caring person obtaining custody of this special child and her brother is unsettling. We are young grandparents (50's) so still capable and willing to handle this, although we pray we never have to. Would a Will or Living Trust be sufficient in Florida?

My response:

I fully understand your concerns, and I can only imagine how unsettling such a thought could be. But, at the same time, the law of the land is that a parent has the ultimate responsibilities for their own children and decision-making powers, and such responsibilities cannot be "Willed" away. If any such "wish" were to be placed in a Will, the courts would merely disregard it. A parent's rights to their own child is paramount and protected. This is expecially true as a result of last years' United States Supreme Court decision in Troxel vs. Granville. As a result of that decision, a Grandparent's rights have been severely limited, in favor of a natural parent's rights to choose who their child is allowed to visit and see.

In extreme circumstances, however, a court might be convinced upon the Petition of a grandparent, that extreme circumstances exist, and that the best interests of the child would be better served with a grandparent. But, again, this is by no means a guarantee. Troxel made "grandparent rights" a real uphill battle.

Good luck to you.

IAAL

[Edited by I AM ALWAYS LIABLE on 01-21-2001 at 04:52 PM]

 

[lindsayilene]

to i am always liable--

would this still be the case if the parents were never married? paternity not established etc...

 

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

to i am always liable--

would this still be the case if the parents were never married? paternity not established etc...

My response:

Marriage has nothing to do with it. People have children out of wedlock all the time. However, paternity has everything to do with it. Until such time as a father is proven (or voluntarily accepted) to be the father, then that "father" has no rights. There must be an Order of Paternity on file with a court. Until that time, it's a "toss-up" as to who that childs' father is.

IAAL