Today, many grandparents are caring for grandchildren, not always but often, because of their own children’s involvement with drug and other substance abuse which make them unable to care for the children. As is so often the case, grandparents step in to care for those grandchildren.
When people think of child custody laws, thoughts of complex and stressful legal agreements are often the first things to come to mind. And a grandparent who has a grandchild living with them is bound to run into even more obstacles and confusion than a parent.
In order to help grandparents around her community, Cynthia Swanson of Swanson Law Center, P.A. in Gainesville, recently hosted a seminar at the Tri-County Community Resource Center in Chiefland, Florida. During this classroom-like discussion, grandparents who have custody of grandchildren, or those seeking to obtain custody rights, were able to ask any pertinent question that came to mind. With decades of legal experience under her belt, Cynthia was able to address the issues and provide legal guidance.
Topics that were covered during the grandparents’ seminar included:
- Medical care: Raising a child is not easy in even ideal conditions, especially when it comes to ensuring they have proper medical care. Some of the most pressing questions during the seminar discussed how grandparents can obtain legal authority to provide medical care and coverage for their grandchildren who are living with them.
- Schooling: Many grandparents who are caring for their grandchildren need to have legal authority to enroll children in school, obtain school records, and so on. The seminar helped clear up some of this lack of information.
- Custody compared to adoption: Grandchild custody might not be the best option for some grandparents. Instead, adoption could make more sense, especially if the child is already a mature teenager. Cynthia was sure to cover the pros, cons, comparisons, and contrasts of both custody and adoption. This is only possible if the parents (the grandparents’ own children) will consent to the adoption, or if they have abandoned, abused, or neglected their children.
- General support: As a Gainesville family lawyer known for compassionate approaches to intricate problems, Cynthia Swanson was also able to give seminar attendees general support and ideas about agencies which might be helpful in providing other resources to grandparents.
Do you have some questions and concerns about grandparent custody rights, laws, and more? Perhaps you already know you need legal support to close a grandchild custody case? Please feel encouraged to call (352) 375-5602 and discuss your options with our Gainesville child custody lawyers at Swanson Law Center, P.A. You can also contact our team online to schedule a consultation that way.