Do Grandparents Have Rights to Their Grandchildren?

By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Angela_Montgomery]Angela Montgomery
A heartbroken grandmother - torn from the grandchild's life with whom she's spent every weekend for the last five years - desperately begs the question, "Do grandparents have rights?" These are troubling times, to be sure. Unlike any other time in history, the American family is in distress and nowhere is that affliction more evident than in the tenuous relationship of older Americans to their grandchildren.
What happened to the days of Grandparents? Just try to imagine Grandpa & Grandma Walton having to go to court to argue their case for the right to be a part of the lives of their grandchildren. Crazy, right? Yet, here we are. Thousands upon thousands of heartbroken grandparents, desperately searching for a way back into a lost grandchild's life.
Professor Herbert S. Klein has identified a number of trends regarding the current state of the family in America....and it isn't pretty.
Consider these startling facts:
Before 1980, less than one in every 10 births occurred outside of marriage.
The percentage of people who never marry is at historic highs, with over one-third of American adults not ever having been married.
More than 25 percent of all families with children are single-parent households.
Out of all households (including those without children) only 53 percent are married households. In 1960, that number was 75 percent.
Increasingly, the elderly are living by themselves. Today, over two-thirds of widows live alone. In 1910, only one in 10 widows lived alone.
There are, of course, plenty of theories about what's brought us to this point. Some say it has to do with a loss of morality. Others see it as a natural societal evolution. Some blame the feminist movement, while others suggest that technology is to blame. Regardless of what caused it, families are changing. While 100 years ago it would have been ludicrous to ask, "Do grandparents have rights to grandchildren?" today nothing is off the table.
What does this mean for you? It means that you're more likely to be expected to live alone, and to provide for your own wants and needs throughout your life. It means that in a world of skyrocketing divorce rates, you may be forced into the ugly world of custody wars and visitation battles.
The rights of grandchildren to maintain a relationship with their grandparents are increasingly called into question as a direct result of these societal changes and children by the thousands suffer in silence & despair as - all too often - the answer has been a resounding, "NO!"
The issue of grandparent rights is in a massive state of flux. Every day, in every state in the country, courts are redefining what "in the best interests of the child" truly means. If you're asking the question as to whether or not you have rights as a grandparent, at present the answer is "maybe". Depends on where you live...the judge you draw...the expertise of the lawyer you hire...how much money you can afford.
It is only when enough elder voices become willing to raise the alarm on behalf of lost grandchildren everywhere that those rights will again be uniformly recognized, respected and - by necessity - made into law.
Angela Montgomery is Chief Editor for GrandparentsRights911.com. She is a leading authority on grandparents rights and tirelessly advocates for laws granting the rights of children to have a loving relationship with their grandparents. For more information, resources & support on the question [http://www.grandparentsrights911.com/do-grandparents-have-rights/]Do Grandparents Have Rights? visit the site at [http://www.grandparentsrights911.com/]http://www.grandparentsrights911.com
Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?Do-Grandparents-Have-Rights-to-Their-Grandchildren?&id=6439487] Do Grandparents Have Rights to Their Grandchildren?