Other Family Issues

questions & answers

Question: i am 18 my mom kicked me out of the home and will not allow me to see my own child

Answer: Mothers have certain rights to their children. If the grandmother is the legal guardian of your child she would have rights to say who is and is not allowed to see the child and the mother would have to be granted certain visitation rights from the court. However, if the grandmother is not the legal guardian of the child, or if the mother has not served her rights to her child, the grandmother would not have any legal rights to withhold the child from the mother. In select cases, a third party (such as a grandparent) could file for in loco parentis, which states that if neither parent is capable of raising the child, a third party with a meaningful relationship with the child can gain custody. However, this is only relevant if the birth parents are not competent or capable to raise the children properly (ARS 25-409). State law entitles a parent to reasonable rights of parenting time to ensure that a child has frequent and continuing contact with the parent. However, parenting time can be limited, or even denied, if the child's physical, mental, moral or emotional health would be seriously endangered by parenting time with a parent. In certain circumstances, Arizona law permits grandparents and great-grandparents to have parenting time rights if it is in the best interests of the child. In order to request parenting time rights by a non-parent, the child's parents must have been divorced for at least three months, one parent must be deceased or missing for three months or the child must have been born out of wedlock (see section 25-409, Arizona Revised Statutes). The law also provides that a person who stands in loco parentis to a child may ask the court for parenting time. To be in loco parentis a person must have been treated as a parent by the child and have formed a meaningful parental relationship with the child for a substantial period of time. There are other requirements that must be met before this request may be made to the court (see section 25-415, Arizona Revised Statutes).