- Target:
- State of Texas
- Region:
- United States of America
Approximately nine years ago the Supreme Court made a decision reversing grandparents' rights because some grandparents were too involved in their children's lives, causing problems in marriages. However, they ruled so stringently that grandparents must now meet unreasonable standards. In the State of Texas, grandparents must have lived with or been primary caregiver of their grandchild(ren) in the past six months in order to be eligible to challenge their children for the right to see their grandchildren. If a parent has always withheld their children, how do the grandparents stand a chance to get to know their grandchild(ren)? The fact that the parent has withheld the grandchild(ren) does not mean the grandparent is necessarily a bad person, but often means there are unresolved problems between them and their child or in-law. Another case entails the death of one of the parents and the in-law automatically denies the grandparents any visitation. Worse yet, it the denial may be a result of psychological problems in that grandparent's child or in-law. There ARE cases in which grandparents should be granted rights, in spite of the parent's insistence.
Grandparents' rights were extremely easy to obtain ten years ago; however, the pendulum has swung too far the other way, making it more difficult than ever for a grandparent to be in their grandchildren's lives. The Supreme Court made a ruling that the parents should be intelligent enough to decide who is appropriate to be in their children's lives. The State of Texas has made it even more difficult by adding that the grandparent must have been the main caregiver or the grandchild must have been living in the grandparents' home for the six months preceding the application for rights. The main caregiver stipulation and living situation meets the criteria of causing the grandchild(ren) emotional distress, thus providing a reason to not break the bond, and a judge may rule in favor of the grandparent(s). In other words, unless the grandparents meet these standards, their own children or the the in-law can deny them visitation of any sort!
Unfortunately, this is an age where many grandparents are held hostage to be in their grandchildren's lives. They meet all kinds of unreasonable requests, usually involving large sums of money, in order to see their grandchildren. Then, there are grandparents that are denied visitation of any sort, usually through no fault of their own. Either, they won't or cannot pay or the parents refuse them for real or perceived infractions that should be forgiven for the sake of family. Finally, there are the category of grandparents who are simply denied by their children/in-laws out of revenge, control, or their own psychological unbalance.
AARP states grandparents' rights is their most frequent complaint. Yet, no one makes a move for change!
Please sign this petition, which will be delivered to our congressman, requesting increased leniency for grandparents in Texas. The cases should be heard individually because often these parents are not making these decisions in the best interest of the grandchild(ren) but only a self-serving interest!
Therefore, we the undersigned, ask the government of the State of Texas to change our state law to allow the courts to assess each situation individually in cases where the parents are self-serving in denying their children THEIR rights to know and love their grandparents as THIS is also emotional abuse.
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The Support Grandparents' Rights in the State of Texas petition to State of Texas was written by Melanie Payne and is in the category Children's Rights at GoPetition.