As we have all witnessed, ours is an age when grandparent duties transcend “Saturday” night. Historically, Saturday was grandparent night when parents would have their night out. Sadly, the explosion in substance abuse among young and middle age adults has forced many older couples to choose between taking their grandchildren in or seeing them placed
Grandparent Custody
GRANT OF THIRD PARTY STANDING IS NOT APPEALABLE AS A COLLATERAL ORDER.
By Mark Ashton on
It comes in a non-precedential decision but the ruling is important nonetheless. In a panel opinion authored by Judge Daniel McCaffery and published on March 2, 2020, the Superior Court held that a decision of a Crawford County judge to allow a paternal grandmother to intervene in a child custody proceeding was not appealable as…
Section 1983 Civil Rights Claim by Grandparents Arising from Dependency Action Permitted to Proceed
By Mark Ashton on
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…