This is an action brought by grandparents against Westmoreland County concerning their grandchild. The County had initiated dependency proceedings involving the grandchild based upon allegations that the biological parents were drug dependent. The County had initially placed the child with the grandparents who were then hosting not only the grandchild but the natural parents. When
Third Party Custody Standing: More from the Supremes
Two years ago the Pennsylvania Supreme Court weighed in on the matter of how third party standing was consistent with the fundamental right of parents to raise their children. That case moved the ball in a new direction as we had seen a trend favoring third party involvement in child custody litigation where “interest”
Custody Standing Wars- Chapter 2
The leading case from last year in family law was the Supreme Court’s decision in D.P. v. G.J.P. 146 A.3d 204, holding that Pennsylvania’s grandparent custody statute offended principles of privacy and was partially if not wholly unconstitutional.
This was an odd turn, in an age when it seemed as if more and more people
Custodial Ménage A Trois
This week we see a new case from a trial court on Long Island, which held that folks who adopt an open marriage that produces children might find the custody courtroom doors open when parts of the relationship have closed.
Follow along carefully. It is a bit more “complicated” than you might expect. Dawn and
The Custody Case Where Everything Went Wrong.
Last Fall brought us a decision from the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania holding that a grandparent did not have standing to terminate a Father’s parental rights incident to an adoption. Last week brought us a Superior Court case in which the appeal comes from a Mother and her own Father in a custody case involving
Where Stated Goal Is Marriage, Adoption May Be Revoked
Just days before a separate panel of the Superior Court held that Pennsylvania courts may assume jurisdiction to dissolve civil unions, Judges Gantman, Bender and Panella issued a published opinion, In re Adoption of R.A.B., Jr., holding that an adult adoption consummated in July, 2012 could be annulled or revoked. 2016 Pa. Super. 295. The
SUPREME COURT DECIDES WHEN RULING ON STANDING IS APPEALABLE
In our haste to report on last week’s Pennsylvania Supreme Court case on support duties of non-parents, we overlooked another case decided on December 21, clarifying when an order conferring standing on a party in a custody case becomes appealable.
“Standing” is the legal term for the right to be a party in a lawsuit.
CAN GRANDPA BECOME PA? THE EVOLVING PENNSYLVANIA FAMILY
The recent Superior Court decision In re Adoption of M.R.D. and T.M.D. offers a new challenge in the context of who can be an adoptive parent. While in her early 20s a young woman ventured to South Dakota to teach school. She met a young man in 2002 and when she returned to Pennsylvania
BEST INTERESTS OF CHILDREN OUTWEIGH PARENTS EFFORTS AT REUNIFICATION
We’ve written about the process of terminating a parent’s custodial rights to their child an different cases presenting unique and unusual circumstances. In some instances, the process is almost rote due to parental ambivalence to the situation; the parent has made no real effort to be
NOVEMBER IS NATIONAL ADOPTION MONTH
Leslie Spoltore, one of our partners in our Wilmington office, posted President Barack Obama’s proclamation making November National Adoption Month. Family law is an area which often deals with difficult issues and outcomes where neither side feels like they’ve won even if the outcome is in their favor.
Adoptions, on the other hand, can