Grandparents rights South Carolina

[Donna Morrison]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?
South Carolina
I have had a very close relationship with my granddaughter. Since a new marriage she has went down hill as far as her school and all around outlook on life. I was the only one she felt comfortable to talk with. My son in law is giving her sleeping pills for headaches and she is seperated from the family...the new child and wife. For and entire year she was made to sit apart from her class she had so much rage that she could not get along with the other kids as well as the teacher. I begged the father to get her help...to no avail. After telling him that he needed to get off his but and take care of his daughter he refused to let me see her. What can I do about this.

Thank You For Your Time
Donna Morrison
[email protected]

 

[Ohiogal]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?
South Carolina
I have had a very close relationship with my granddaughter. Since a new marriage she has went down hill as far as her school and all around outlook on life. I was the only one she felt comfortable to talk with. My son in law is giving her sleeping pills for headaches and she is seperated from the family...the new child and wife. For and entire year she was made to sit apart from her class she had so much rage that she could not get along with the other kids as well as the teacher. I begged the father to get her help...to no avail. After telling him that he needed to get off his but and take care of his daughter he refused to let me see her. What can I do about this.

Thank You For Your Time
Donna Morrison
[email protected]

You may have standing to sue for visitation but unless you win you will have ruined any chance of having a relationship with your granddaughter while she is a minor. The bar is rather high to get grandparent visitation.
MARQUEZ v. CAUDILL
656 S.E.2d 737 (SC 2008)

The Court of Appeals chose to adopt the four-prong test, stating that this test provides a good framework for determining whether a psychological parent-child relationship exists and that the test would ensure that a nonparent's eligibility for psychological parent status will be strictly limited.

The four-prong test states that, in order to demonstrate the existence of a psychological parent-child relationship, the petitioner must show:


(1) that the biological or adoptive parent consented to, and fostered, the petitioners formation and establishment of a parent-like relationship with the child;

(2) that the petitioner and the child lived together in the same household;

(3) that the petitioner assumed obligations of parenthood by taking significant responsibility for the child's care, education and development, including contributing towards the child's support, without expectation of financial compensation; [and]

(4) that the petitioner has been in a parental role for a length of time sufficient to have established with the child a bonded, dependent relationship parental in nature.

and

We addressed the constitutionality of the grandparent visitation statute in Camburn v. Smith, 355 S.C. 574, 586 S.E.2d 565 (2003). In Camburn, we stated that it is well-settled that parents have a protected liberty interest in the care, custody, and control of their children and that this is a fundamental right protected by the Due Process Clause. Id. at 579, 586 S.E.2d at 567 (citing Troxel, supra). We noted that, under Troxel, the court must give "special weight" to a fit parent's decision regarding visitation. Id. A court considering grandparents visitation over a parents objection must allow a presumption that a fit parents decision is in the child's best interest:


o long as a parent adequately cares for his or her children (i.e., is fit), there will normally be no reason for the State to inject itself into the private realm of the family to further question the ability of that parent to make the best decisions concerning the rearing of that parents children.
Id. at 579, 586 S.E.2d at 567-568 (quoting Troxel, supra). Parental unfitness must be shown by clear and convincing evidence. Id. (citations omitted).

The presumption that a fit parents decision is in the best interest of the child may be overcome only by showing compelling circumstances, such as significant harm to the child, if visitation is not granted. Id. The fact that a child may benefit from contact with the grandparent, or that the parents refusal is simply not reasonable in the courts view, does not justify government interference in the parental decision. Id. In Camburn, we stated that, in sum, parents and grandparents are not on an equal footing in a contest over visitation. Before visitation may be awarded over a parents objection, one of two evidentiary hurdles must be met the parent must be shown to be unfit by clear and convincing evidence, or there must be evidence of compelling circumstances to overcome the presumption that the parental decision is in the child's best interest. Id. at 579-580, 586 S.E.2d at 568. Accordingly, we have already ruled that the grandparent visitation statute is not facially invalid because it can be constitutionally applied in the appropriate circumstances.

Applying the statute and Camburn to the facts here, there has been no finding that Stepfather is unfit; in fact, Grandmothers attorneys conceded and the family court found that Stepfather is a fit parent.(fn11) We hold that a biological parents death and an attempt to maintain ties with that deceased parents family may be compelling circumstances justifying ordering visitation over a fit parents objection. We find visitation here is in the childrens best interest to further the relationship between the children and the mothers family. We further find the visitation ordered by the family court would not excessively interfere in Stepfathers relationship with the children. Therefore, the family court did not err by awarding Grandmother visitation.

Grandparent visitation is NOT impossible but it is not easily obtained.

 

[LdiJ]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?
South Carolina
I have had a very close relationship with my granddaughter. Since a new marriage she has went down hill as far as her school and all around outlook on life. I was the only one she felt comfortable to talk with. My son in law is giving her sleeping pills for headaches and she is seperated from the family...the new child and wife. For and entire year she was made to sit apart from her class she had so much rage that she could not get along with the other kids as well as the teacher. I begged the father to get her help...to no avail. After telling him that he needed to get off his but and take care of his daughter he refused to let me see her. What can I do about this.

Thank You For Your Time
Donna Morrison
[email protected]

You already got an excellent analysis of the law as it currently stands in SC. However, I would like to give you some information from a non-legal perspective.

The biggest danger in starting a gpv case is the huge fracture it makes in families. You virtually lose all ability to repair the fracture once you get the courts involved. In addition, they are hugely expensive for the grandparents, because they end up bearing all the costs of any court professionals that end up being involved. I have seen many grandparents spend their entire retirement monies trying to win gpv cases, only to lose in the end and end up permanently estranged from their grandchildren...and their own child as well if their own child is the one being sued.

This is not something that you should enter into lightly. If there is any hope of reconciling with the child's parent(s) you should make every effort to do so, first. If that means groveling, then grovel.

 

[Ohiogal]

You already got an excellent analysis of the law as it currently stands in SC. However, I would like to give you some information from a non-legal perspective.

The biggest danger in starting a gpv case is the huge fracture it makes in families. You virtually lose all ability to repair the fracture once you get the courts involved. In addition, they are hugely expensive for the grandparents, because they end up bearing all the costs of any court professionals that end up being involved. I have seen many grandparents spend their entire retirement monies trying to win gpv cases, only to lose in the end and end up permanently estranged from their grandchildren...and their own child as well if their own child is the one being sued.

This is not something that you should enter into lightly. If there is any hope of reconciling with the child's parent(s) you should make every effort to do so, first. If that means groveling, then grovel.

I don't disagree with anything about the dangers of the gpv case however I especially agree with the bolded. Not everything SHOULD or NEEDS to be a court case or legal battle.

 

[halimaha1]

Im goin through a legal battle with grandparents. Trust me if they didn't take me to court and let my temper cool a bit we would of been fine, but now there is lots of animosity. Try to respect the parents and come to terms with them. Im sure they do not want their child to feel bad or be in trouble at school. When your taken to court you feel attacked and rightfully so, especially if your a fit parent. Be nice and support your grandbaby when they visit by talking to them, not attacking the parents.

 

[Just Blue]

Im goin through a legal battle with grandparents. Trust me if they didn't take me to court and let my temper cool a bit we would of been fine, but now there is lots of animosity. Try to respect the parents and come to terms with them. Im sure they do not want their child to feel bad or be in trouble at school. When your taken to court you feel attacked and rightfully so, especially if your a fit parent. Be nice and support your grandbaby when they visit by talking to them, not attacking the parents.

Please stop digging up old threads!

 

[halimaha1]

This thread is 2 months ago, if you don't want people commenting on them and your in charge of this site erase the old threads. I'm not sure what you consider old since court usually takes several months and the information could be useful to someone reading them.

 

[ecmst12]

If it has been a week or 2 with no comments, then the thread is resolved and the original poster is probably not even around anymore looking for help. If you need advice, start your own thread.