Our Law Firm Fights for Grandparents’ Rights in Boise and Nampa

Helping families act in the best interests of their children

Family problems can interfere with the relationships of grandparents and other extended relatives. Although you have fewer legal safeguards than the parents, the law recognizes your unique status and vital involvement in your grandchildren’s lives and grants you rights that further the best interests of the children.

Gulstrom & Govia has helped grandparents throughout Boise and Nampa since the firm’s establishment in 2001. Our lawyers take decisive steps that allow you access to your grandchildren, and if it is in their best interests, give you authority to make crucial decisions that promote their health, safety and well-being.

Grandparents’ visitation rights

The bond between grandparents and grandchildren is often special. Sadly, divorce or family discord can jeopardize this important relationship. The tension may be worse for grandparents whose unmarried son recently has established paternity or whose child has lost custody and visitation rights of the grandchildren. However, Idaho Statute 32-719 allows the court to grant reasonable visitation to grandparents and great-grandparents if it is in the best interests of the children.

Rights of grandparents who act as parents

Some grandparents find themselves acting as parents to their children’s children. Your role may become problematic if your grandchildren’s schools or doctors need consent from their legal guardians. You can avoid serious issues by formalizing your status as your grandchildren’s caregiver. Our law firm advises you on your legal options, including the following:

• Parenting power of attorney — You can enter into a voluntary agreement called a parenting power of attorney that authorizes you to make decisions on behalf of your grandchildren but allows the parents to retain their rights. Although the legal relationship is valid for three years, you and the parents can extend the power of attorney longer and can revoke the arrangement at any time.

• De facto custodianship and guardianship — The court may consider you to be the grandchildren’s de facto custodian and guardian if you are their primary caregiver and financial supporter.

• Guardianship — If the parents can no longer care for your grandchildren, the court may grant you guardianship, which suspends the parents’ rights and gives you full parental rights. To win guardianship, the evidence must demonstrate that you are the de facto guardian, the parents have abandoned the children, the parents have remained consistently unemployed or the parents live with people dangerous to the children.

• Adoption — You can obtain permanent parental rights by adopting your grandchildren. For your grandchildren to be eligible for adoption, the parents’ rights must have been voluntarily relinquished or involuntarily terminated by the court.

Consult our aggressive Boise lawyers who defend grandparents’ rights

To learn more about your rights as a grandparent, consult with the dedicated attorneys at Gulstrom & Govia

To schedule your free consultation, contact us online or call 208-546-9933.