Third Party Custody - Grandparent's Rights

Roseville, Minnesota Third Party and Grandparent's Rights Lawyer

Third Parties, grandparents and other relatives often become the primary care-providers and role models for children in situations where the biological parents are missing or unfit due to negligence, drug use, alcoholism, or abuse. Under Minnesota's third-party custody law, grandparents, relatives and other interested adults can obtain custody of children when they are already serving as de facto parents. In these cases, we can use Minnesota's third-party custody law to bring legal reality to the parent-child relationship that already exists. The area of third-party custody is a highly technical area of law, with very little case law thus far, requiring that the pleadings must be skillfully written and meticulously follow the statute.

If you are caring for a grandchild or a child for whom you are not the biological parent, it's important to file a motion for custody while the child is still living with you. If the biological parents take the child before you file the motion, custody is broken and it destroys the continuity of care you provide to the child. Third-party custody cases are based on the best interests of the child. To prove that the child's best interests would be served by custody with the third-party, we would need to show that the biological parents are unfit, uninvolved or negligent. We also handle cases establishing and protecting grandparent and third-party visitation rights.

Third party custody cases are very technical and require the expertise of an experienced attorney. For assistance with seeking legal custody or visitation rights, contact us.