The Attorneys at Dixon & Moseley, P.C.
Strong, Trial-Ready Advocates Protecting Your Rights
Grandparents play an important role in many of our lives. Fortunately, the Indiana Legislature has recognized this importance and passed what is known as the Grandparent Visitation Act. The Grandparent Visitation Act gives grandparents the right to seek visitation, albeit, in limited and defined circumstances. Whether or not you can seek visitation of your grandchildren will depend on the specific…
The family dynamic is something that is always changing, and there is certainly no “standard” or “normal” family. Many may picture a mom, a dad, and a couple of children when thinking of what was called a “nuclear family.” However, the truth is, families, often, do not resemble a nuclear family. Families may consist of same-sex couples, single parents, step-parents,…
Grandparents are an important part of many of their grandkids’ lives. Grandparents tend to help watch us growing up and provide many of us with invaluable life lessons they taught their own children. In many respects in today’s busy world, grandparents often times almost act as second parents. The Indiana Legislature, for this very reason, passed statutes providing grandparents with…
Today, millions of children are being raised by grandparents, friends, neighbors, and sometimes, total strangers. This trend is growing each year. In this situation, these individuals acting as “parents” have no legal rights to the children they are raising, despite the fact they are providing for all aspects of their physical and emotional well-being. Practically speaking, this reality can create…
In many homes across America today, a grandparent (or third party) is the one raising a child or children of the biological parents. This may be for many reasons; typically, it is due to the instability of a parent, physical or mental health issues, drug use, incarceration of a parent or a pure lack of the ability and/or desire of…
Raising Someone Else’s Children A word that has almost vanished from common conversations is the term “nuclear” family. This conjured up the notion of a mother, father, two children (a boy and a girl), family dog, and the proverbial white fence. Now children are routinely shared between same-sex parents, divorced parents or have a single parent. However, there are tens…
Daily news stories and life experiences demonstrate to us all that third parties, such as neighbors, friends, and grandparents are helping more and more to raise children. Sometimes disputes like divorce causes such third parties to be removed from a care-giving role that they want to continue and perhaps the children need for security and stability. This blog post explores…
Without a court order a grandparent does not have a right to visitation with their grandchild. In other words, unless allowed by a parent, a grandparent cannot demand certain visitation with a grandchild. There are, however, specific circumstances under which a grandparent has the right to seek visitation. A recent U.S. Supreme Court decision ruled that just any third-party may…
Extended family, such as grandparents, can play a big role in a child’s life when his or her parents are getting divorced. The love and support of family is important, especially when a child is dealing with the life changes that come when his or her parents separate. Often, one parent will move back in with his or her parents…
Traditionally, Grandparents had no special common law right to visitation with their grandchildren. However, in the past few decades, many states have enacted legislation which allows grandparents to seek a court order for visitation with their grandchildren. The Indiana legislature enacted Indiana Code § 31-17-5 allowing for grandparents to seek visitation, in certain limited circumstances, including if one of the…