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Law Offices of Virginia C. Cornwell

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State of Ohio Grandparents Rights by a Columbus Custody and Visitation Attorney Part 7

January 6, 2011

Ohio Grandparents Rights AttorneyThis is the 7th installment in a series by Virginia Cornwell, a A State of Ohio Grandparent Rights Lawyer and Ohio State Bar Association Certified Family Relations Specialist.  Virginia is one of approximate 100 attorneys in Ohio to have received this honor.

State of Ohio Grandparents Rights  When the Parents Were NOT Married When the Child Was BORN

Ohio Revised Code 3109.12 says that if a child is born to an unmarried woman, the parents of the woman and any relative of the mother of the child may file a complaint requesting the reasonable visitation with the child.  Relatives of the father cannot petition the court for visitation with the child unless paternity of the child has been established.  When grandparent or relative visitation has been requested, the court may grant the visitation if it
determines the visitation is in the best interest of the child.

Ohio Grandparent Rights Attorney AdoptedThe marriage or remarriage of the mother or father of a child does not affect the authority of the court to grant reasonable visitation with grandparents or relatives of either the father or the mother of the child.  Note this does not apply to adoption. This means that if a mother or father is not supporting his or her child, or if the mother or father is not visiting his or her child (either/or, does not have to be both), then he or she and their entire family could lose access to the child.

Comparison of Ohio Grandparent Visitation Rights With Children
Who Were Born During Wedlock and Children Who Were Born Out of Wedlock

It is important to note the difference between non-parent visitation in situations where the child was born during marriage, and when the child was born out of wedlock.  When the child was born during marriage, relatives and any other person (whether they are a relative or not) may file for visitation, but only if one of the parents have first filed an action for divorce, legal separation, dissolution, annulment, or child support.  In contrast, when the child was born out of wedlock, relatives of the child’s mother have an automatic right to request grandparent visitation any time, and, if paternity has been established, relatives of the father have the same right.  So, the law is more liberal about WHO may file for visitation when the parents of the child were married when the child was born, and the law is more liberal about WHEN a relative may file for visitation when the parents of the child were notmarried.

Grandparent Visitation in  the State of Ohio
When One of the Parents of the Child has died.

Ohio Revised Code 3109.11 provides that if either the father or mother of an unmarried minor child is deceased (child must be unmarried, has nothing to do with the parents), the court may grant visitation to grandparents or other relatives of the deceased father or mother. It is VERY IMPORTANT to note that ORC 3109.11 also provides ” the remarriage of the surviving parent of the child or the adoption of the child by the spouse of the surviving parent of the child does not affect the authority of the court under this section to grant reasonable companionship or visitation rights with respect to the child to a parent or other relative of the child’s deceased father or mother.”  This is contrary to what many people believe the law to be – but it is right there in the statute.  If you are a grandparent, and your adult child is deceased, your right to request or receive grandparent visitation is NOT terminated by adoption or remarriage of the surviving parent. Check for yourself!

The other articles in the series can be seen here:

 

  • Part 1 (Table of Contents, Unsuitability)
  • Part 2 (Unsuitable aka Unfit, Never Married, Guardianship, Probate Court, Temporary Custody vs. Legal Custody)
  • Part 3 (Custody, Children Services cases)
  • Part 4 (Custody, Children Services cases, Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children)
  • Part 5(Custody, Visitation in general)
  • Part 6 (Visitation, Married Parents)
  • Part 7 (Visitation, Unmarried Parents, Unmarried vs. Married Parents, Parent Deceased)
  • Part 8 (Filing the Right Motion),
  • Part 9 (Grandparent Caretaker Affidavit, Grandparent Power of Attorney)

 

 

DISCLAIMER – read it!

 

 

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State of Ohio Grandparents Rights by a Columbus Custody and Visitation Attorney Part 6

January 6, 2011

Ohio Grandparents Rights AttorneyThis is the 6th installment in a series by Virginia Cornwell, a Ohio Grandparent Rights Attorney and Ohio State Bar Association Certified Family Relations Specialist.  Virginia is one of approximate 100 attorneys in Ohio to have received this honor.

State of Ohio Grandparent Visitation Rights When the Parents of the Child Were Married When the Child Was Born

Pursuant to Ohio Revised Code 3109.051(B), a grandparent may request visitation with their grandchild or grandchildren by filing a motion in a divorce, dissolution of marriage, legal separation, annulment, or child support proceeding.  The law actually provides that the court may “grant reasonable companionship or visitation rights to any grandparent, any person related to the child by consanguinity (blood) or affinity (marriage), or any other person other than a parent”.  This means that anybody can try to intervene in these types of action and file a motion to receive visitation with a child.  However, just because anybody can apply, it does not mean that just anybody will be granted visitation of a child.  Aunts, uncles, friends of the family, people in gay or lesbian relationships can all apply for visitation, but of all these categories, grandparents are the class most likely to receive visitation.

Ohio Grandparents Rights AttorneyIf the parents of the child in question were married when the child was born, are still married, and none of the above proceedings has been filed by the parents, then a grandparent does not have a right to even ask the court for visitation.   When weighing the needs of a child, the law in the state of Ohio puts preserving the sanctity of an intact marriage ABOVE the need of the child to have a relationship with both sides of the child’s extended family.  This causes distress to many grandparents who are alienated from their grandchildren due to conflicts between the parents, or one of the parents, and the grandparents.  The bottom line is if the parents of the children are happily married, and the children are well cared for (not the subject of an abuse, neglect, dependency proceeding, or a Children Services case, then grandparents are going to have to work out their differences with the parents in order to have access to the child.

Ohio Grandparents Rights AttorneyGrandparents – read this next line carefully – short of being a dangerous criminal or child abuser yourself, the surest way to make sure you never get access to your grandchildren is to make a false report to Children’s Services.  DON’T DO IT.  You cannot unring that bell, and a great attorney is not going to be able to clean up that mess.  If you pick up that phone to call the local Children’s Services in your county about your grandchildren, you need to have a darn good reason to do so.  A reason that means the child is abused or neglected, not a parenting style that you do not believe is ideal.

In the state of Ohio, a court can award visitation to a grandparent during or after a divorce, dissolution, legal separation, annulment or child support proceeding, if ALL of the following apply:

(a) The grandparent, relative, or other person files a motion with the court seeking companionship or visitation rights.

(b) The court determines that the grandparent, relative, or other person has an interest in the welfare of the child.

(c) The court determines that the granting of the companionship or visitation rights is in the best interest of the child. (the factors used to determine the best interest of the child when deciding visitation rights is set out in Ohio Revised Code 3109.051(D).

Ohio Grandparents Rights AttorneyIf an award of grandparents visitation rights is made, and circumstances later change, a grandparent can file to modify their grandparent visitation.  The law in the state of Ohio says a court should not consider modifying an award of grandparent visitation unless the circumstances of the child have changed.

What is important to realize here is that if grandparents of children whose parents were married want grandparent visitation, then the grandparents should to become involved EARLY in the proceedings in which the parents end their marriage or seek child support in court.  If a grandparent waits to see what the court will do in the divorce, decides they do not like the amount of parenting time that their son or daughter received, and THEN tries to file for grandparent visitation, a court is not going to take the request very seriously, unless both parents are denying the grandparent access to their grandchildren.

In Ohio divorce cases, allegations are sometimes made that when one parent or the other exercises parenting time, it is really the grandparent who is caring for the child.  This is commonly an allegation that is used as a tool to allege that one parent is unable or unwilling to care for their children, and is delegating that responsibility to the grandparents.  Make no mistake – it is perfectly fine for grandparents to provide child care for grandchildren while parents are working.  Most courts would find this preferable to being with strangers in a day care setting.  However, if time with grandparents is going to constantly cause problems between parents, and jeapordize whether grandparents will be able to spend time with their grandchildren, then court ordered grandparent visitation may be the answer.

The other articles in the series can be seen here:

  • Part 1 (Table of Contents, Unsuitability)
  • Part 2 (Unsuitable aka Unfit, Never Married, Guardianship, Probate Court, Temporary Custody vs. Legal Custody)
  • Part 3 (Custody, Children Services cases)
  • Part 4 (Custody, Children Services cases, Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children)
  • Part 5(Custody, Visitation in general)
  • Part 6 (Visitation, Married Parents)
  • Part 7 (Visitation, Unmarried Parents, Unmarried vs. Married Parents, Parent Deceased)
  • Part 8 (Filing the Right Motion),
  • Part 9 (Grandparent Caretaker Affidavit, Grandparent Power of Attorney)

 

DISCLAIMER – read it!

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State of Ohio Grandparents Rights by a Columbus Custody and Visitation Lawyer Part 5

January 6, 2011

Grandparents Rights in OhioThis is the 5th installment in a series by Virginia Cornwell, a A State of Ohio Grandparent Rights Lawyer and Ohio State Bar Association Certified Family Relations Specialist.  Virginia is one of approximate 100 attorneys in Ohio to have received this honor.

MODIFICATION OF GRANDPARENT CUSTODY

In the case  IN RE BRAYDEN JAMES: 113 Ohio St.3d 420, the Supreme Court of Ohio held that ORC 3109.04(E)(1)(a) says that a trial court cannot modify a custody decree unless it finds, based on facts that have arisen since the time of the decree or were unknown at that time,  a change has occurred in circumstances of the child, the child’s residential parent or either parent subject to a shared parenting decree.  In addition the court must find that the change is necessary to serve the best interest of the child.

VISITATION

CURRENT LAW FOR GRANDPARENT VISITATION IN THE STATE OF OHIO

Grandparents Rights Attorneys OhioOnce upon a time there was a U.S. Supreme Court case called Troxel v. Granville, 530 U.S. 57 (2000). The state of Washington used to have a statute that permitted any person to apply for visitation with a child at any time.  The Troxels applied for visitation with the daughters of their deceased son.  After many appeals, the case reached the U.S. Supreme Court.  The U.S. Supreme Court found that that the Washington statute was overly broad, and violated the mother’s constitutional due process right to the care, custody and control of her children.  In support of their decision, the U.S. Supreme Court noted that the Washington statute had a requirement that the parent be found unfit AND the statute (and the Washington courts) gave no special weight to the wishes of the parent.  Pursuant to Parham v. J.R. 442 U.S. 584, there is a presumption that a fit parent acts in the best interest of their child.  The Supreme Court went on to say that the problem was not so much that the court intervened, but that it gave no special weight to wishes of the parents.

Unfortunately, after the Troxel case many lawyers concluded that ANY statute which allowed grandparent visitation would not be upheld if challenged.  This is not the case.  Grandparents do have rights in Ohio. Ohio has several statutes which allow grandparent and non-parent visitation.

HARROLD V. COLLIER – A VICTORY FOR OHIO GRANDPARENTS

Grandparents Rights Attorneys OhioOn October 10, 2005, the Ohio Supreme Court , in the case Harrold v. Collier, 107 Ohio St.3d 44, 2005-Ohio-5334, held that Ohio Revised Code 3109.11(visitation for relatives of deceased mother or father) and 3109.12 (relatives of child born to an unmarried woman) do not unconstitutionally infringe upon parents’ due process right to make fundamental decisions regarding care, custody and control of their children, and that the statutes are narrowly tailored to serve the state’s compelling interest in protecting children.

In the state of Ohio, Grandparents have the right to petition a court for visitation in a several different  circumstances.  They do not have an automatic right to have visitation.  That is a decision made by the court on a case by case basis, using the best interest of the child standard.  Generally, Ohio courts have been generous in awarding visitation.

Grandparents Rights in OhioWhen visitation is awarded by a court, it is generally a visitation schedule that is less than what would be awarded to a parent.  There is a reason for this – a grandparent’s rights are not the same as a parent’s rights.  Ohio courts want to be very clear about this, and do NOT want to send a signal to grandparents that the courts are the place to win a power struggle between and parent and a grandparent.  In addition, if the court finds, (after being presented with evidence that is admissible in court under the state of Ohio Rules of Evidence and is NOT hearsay) that the grandparent is making statements or taking actions to alienate the parent from the child, the court may decline to grant visitation or severely limit visitation.

Most parents who oppose court ordered grandparent visitation state one or more of the following reasons for denying or severely limiting visitation:

  • The child is not comfortable with the grandmother or grandfather
  • The child does not really know or have a relationship with the grandmother or grandfather
  • The child is somehow at risk with the grandmother or grandfather
  • The child was somehow injured or frightened while in the grandmother’s or grandfather’s care
  • They have not contacted the parents in a long time and being served with the court papers was a complete surprise
  • They have left the child in the care of or exposed the child to persons who are inappropriate to be around the child
  • They do not properly feed or care for the child while the children are or have been in their care
  • The parent has never denied visitation with the child, so there is no need for a court ordered visitation schedule
  • The other parent is or was a bad person and so the child should not be exposed to the parents of the bad person
  • Giving them rights to court ordered visitation takes away some of the rights of the parents
  • They only wants rights in order to add to the court ordered visitation time which the other parent already has or is about to receive

Grandparents Rights in OhioThe court hears these allegations all the time.   Some of them have merit, but most do not.  Almost none of them are provable in a court of law, because the allegations are mostly hearsay.

Before determining whether visitation is in the best interest of the child, a court is going to want to know why the child can’t spend time with their grandmother or grandfather during the court ordered time the appropriate parent has.   If the grandparent does not have a good answer to this question, the court will likely conclude that they simply wants to expand the amount of time their child has with his or her children, and deny the visitation for the grandmother/ grandfather.

Grandparents Rights OhioOf all of the reasons that parents have for avoiding court ordered grandparent rights, the most commonly litigated reason is that the parent’s assertion that the grandparent already has access to the child and there is no need for a court ordered schedule.  If the grandparent is able to present credible evidence about why there is a need for the court ordered schedule, and establish that access to the grandchild was denied until the court papers were filed for grandparent rights, the parent’s assertion does not usually stand up under scrutiny.  If the parent who has custody of the children would rather go to trial than have a court ordered grandparent rights visitation schedule, this often has the effect of convincing the court that there IS a need for a court ordered schedule for grandparent visitation.

The second most litigated reason that reason parents give for denying grandparent visitation is that parents are willing to grant visitation, but the parents want to control and/or supervise the visitation.  A court is going to want to know if there is any reason that the grandparent is a risk to the grandchild.  If not, the court is going to want to know what the parent’s justification, in terms of the CHILD’S NEEDS, not the PARENT’S NEEDS, to have grandparent visitation controlled or supervised by the parent.

The other articles in the series can be seen here:

  • Part 1 (Table of Contents, Unsuitability)
  • Part 2 (Unsuitable aka Unfit, Never Married, Guardianship, Probate Court, Temporary Custody vs. Legal Custody)
  • Part 3 (Custody, Children Services cases)
  • Part 4 (Custody, Children Services cases, Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children)
  • Part 5(Custody, Visitation in general)
  • Part 6 (Visitation, Married Parents)
  • Part 7 (Visitation, Unmarried Parents, Unmarried vs. Married Parents, Parent Deceased)
  • Part 8 (Filing the Right Motion),
  • Part 9 (Grandparent Caretaker Affidavit, Grandparent Power of Attorney)

 

DISCLAIMER – read it!

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Grandparents Rights in Ohio by a Columbus Custody and Visitation Lawyer Part 4

January 5, 2011

Grandparents Rights in OhioThis is the 4th installment in a series by Virginia Cornwell, a A State of Ohio Grandparent Rights Lawyer and Ohio State Bar Association Certified Family Relations Specialist.  Virginia is one of approximate 100 attorneys in Ohio to have received this honor.

GRANDPARENT CUSTODY IN OHIO, UNSUITABILITY (UNFIT), AND CHILDREN’S SERVICES CASES

(continued from Part 3 of the series)

Okay, so you have notified the caseworker that you want to take over the custodial rights of your grandchild, even if only temporarily.  Don’t expect anything to happen yet, you have a lot more work to do.  Now you have to notify the COURT.  This is as important if not MORE important than notifying the agency.  The agency often has different motives than the court.  The Court is more likely to recognize and properly address your rights regarding your grandson or granddaughter.

Grandparents Rights in OhioUnder Ohio Revised Code 2151.353 (Orders of Disposition of Abused, Neglected and Dependent Children), the law of Ohio provides that ONE of the options a court may choose if a child is found to be abused, neglected or dependent would be to award temporary or legal custody to A RELATIVE LIVING INSIDE OR OUTSIDE THE STATE. In order for a person to be awarded legal custody, that person MUST HAVE FILED A MOTION REQUESTING LEGAL CUSTODY PRIOR TO THE DISPOSITIONAL HEARING.  This requirement bears close scrutiny, so I’ll break it down into three parts:

  • Relative must have filed a motion with the court. (You may need the help of an attorney for this – Children’s Services will not even give you the case number, much less tell you when the court hearings are)
  • The Motion must be a Motion for Custody, if that is what you want.  A Motion to Intervene is NOT the same thing as a Motion for Custody.  There are Ohio Grandparents who have lost their rights forever because their attorney filed a Motion to Intervene.  (Note that when a court WANTS to grant the grandparents custody, Ohio courts sometimes elect to “treat” the motion to intervene as if it were in fact a motion for custody, but when the court does not want to grant the custodial rights to grandparents, the court will often use this technicality as a reason for denying the award of custodial rights.  The only way to MAKE the court consider giving you custody is to file a Motion.)
  • The Motion must be filed BEFORE THE DISPOSITION HEARING.  In Ohio, abuse, neglect or dependency cases must be adjudicated within 90 days.  The disposition often happens on the same day as the adjudication.  In order to be safe, The Motion must be filed with the court and a copy mailed to all parties OR their attorneys 14 days before the 90 days expires, or before the disposition hearing, whichever is earliest.  The 90 day time period begins on the date the complaint is filed.

Grandparents Rights to See Grandchildren in OhioIn addition to filing a motion, everyone in the grandparent’s household must go through a background check, which usually involves being fingerprinted by Children’s Services.  If Children’s Services will not cooperate with you, will not return your calls, and drags their feet about performing a background check, you are probably going to have to pay for one yourself.  This can be done electronically, through fingerprinting.  Request that the results be sent to you, not to Children’s Services.  When you get the results, take them to court to show the judge or magistrate.  At that point Children’s Services will probably say that the fingerprint results are unacceptable and the magistrate will probably ask Children’s Services why they didn’t return your calls and arrange for you to be fingerprinted.  At that point, Children’s Services will probably follow through with your fingerprinting.  So why did you go through this silly, expensive ordeal?  So that Children’s Services would have to either do the background check or accept the one you had done.

Grandparents Rights in OhioAt this point, you are probably beginning to understand what a difficult ordeal that grandparents and other relatives have when trying to get custody of their grandchildren in a children’s services case.  If you have the means to afford an attorney, you are well advised to get an attorney EARLY in the case, not when it’s too late.  Because of the lack of information or incorrect information grandparents receive about their grandchildren when they are in the custody of children’s services, grandparents often wait too long to retain an attorney.  An unfortunate example of this mistake is when grandparents fail to file a motion for custody BEFORE the children are determined to be abused, neglected or dependent by a court, and instead waiting until the children have been in the custody of the agency for many months, and the agency has filed a motion to terminate parental rights.  If parental rights are terminated, grandparents may have no legal right or access to custody or visitation with their grandchildren.  Waiting and hoping that things will work out for the best may cost these grandparents dearly.  Instead, the best thing they could have done is to become involved early and if possible, hire an attorney.

Children’s Services is charged with ensuring the safety of the child.  They are going to trust a foster parent more than a relative because the foster parent is motivated to be honest with the agency and to provide supervision as required by the agency.  The agency trusts a foster parent not to release the child back to the parent who, according to the law, abused or neglected the child.  However, the children’s services agency does not have the final say in who receives custody of the child.  Grandparents and relatives CANNOT prove a negative.  They cannot prove that they are NOT going to do something.  The court knows this, but it helps to have an attorney to represent the grandparents in court.

Interstate Grandparents Rights OhioMatters are even more complicated if the grandparent seeking custody lives outside of the state of Ohio.  In order to place children outside of the state of Ohio, Children’s Services must comply with the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children.  Pursuant to Ohio Administrative Code 5101:2-52-04, the Ohio Children’s Service Agency must make the request to the Ohio Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children Office (ICPC) of its need to obtain an evaluation of a placement resource and the receiving state’s authorization to place the child.  By simply failing to do this, a Children’s Services agency can make it difficult or impossible for a grandparent to receive custody of their child.  Therefore, the grandparent will probably have to engage the help of the court in order to receive custody of their grandchild.

The other articles in the series can be seen here:

  • Part 1 (Table of Contents, Unsuitability)
  • Part 2 (Unsuitable aka Unfit, Never Married, Guardianship, Probate Court, Temporary Custody vs. Legal Custody)
  • Part 3 (Custody, Children Services cases)
  • Part 4 (Custody, Children Services cases, Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children)
  • Part 5(Custody, Visitation in general)
  • Part 6 (Visitation, Married Parents)
  • Part 7 (Visitation, Unmarried Parents, Unmarried vs. Married Parents, Parent Deceased)
  • Part 8 (Filing the Right Motion),
  • Part 9 (Grandparent Caretaker Affidavit, Grandparent Power of Attorney)

 

DISCLAIMER – read it!

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Grandparents Rights in Ohio by a Columbus Custody and Visitation Lawyer Part 3

January 5, 2011

Grandparents Rights Attorneys OhioThis is the 3rd installment in a series by Virginia Cornwell, a A State of Ohio Grandparent Rights Lawyer and Ohio State Bar Association Certified Family Relations Specialist.  Virginia is one of approximate 100 attorneys in Ohio to have received this honor.

GRANDPARENT CUSTODY IN OHIO, UNSUITABILITY, AND CASES IN WHICH A CHILD IS FOUND TO BE ABUSED, NEGLECTED OR DEPENDENT (CHILDREN’S SERVICES CASES)

On March 29, 2006, The Supreme Court of Ohio, in In re C.R. held that when a juvenile court adjudicates a child to be abused, neglected or dependent, it has no duty to make a separate finding at the dispositional hearing that the parent is unsuitable before awarding legal custody to a non-parent, because an adjudication of abuse, neglect or dependency  is a determination about the care and condition of a child, and implicitly involves a determination of the unsuitability of the child’s custodial and/or non-custodial parents.

Ohio Grandparent Rights To Seek Or Provide Kinship Care, Temporary Custody, Visitation, Or Custody When The Child Is In The Custody Of Children Services, Family And Youth Services, Department Of Human Services Or A Similar Agency

Grandparents RightsOhio Grandparents often have a very difficult time obtaining custody of their grandchildren when they are in the temporary or legal custody of a PCSA (Public Children’s Services Agency) in Ohio.  It is very difficult to get the agency to tell you anything about the case.  Often, the grandparents will get either no information, mixed information or even false information from the Children’s Services Agency.   Most of the time however, they do not return your calls.

It is important to remember that phone calls are invisible.  I’ll say that again.  PHONE CALLS ARE INVISIBLE. Do NOT wait for that caseworker to return your call.  It probably won’t happen, and if it does, it still will not get you any closer to getting temporary or legal custody of your grandchild.  If a children’s services case is open on your grandchild, and you want to take temporary or legal custody of your grandchild, or have your grandchild live with you while the children’s services case is pending, you need to notify children’s services, IN WRITING, that you are will to take legal custody, temporary custody, provide kinship care, or simply have the child placed with you while the court case is proceeding.  You are well advised to fax this information to children’s services.  You can send faxes at many stores, like FedEx/Kinko’s, Staples, or other similar stores.  KEEP THE FAX CONFIRMATION RECEIPT to prove the letter was received.

Now, getting information regarding a working fax number of the Children’s Services case worker assigned to your child’s case may be difficult in and of itself.  You do not have a lot of time.  Sometimes Children’s Services case move very quickly and if you do not act early in the case, almost right away, you are damaging your chances of being able to take custody of your grandchild if their parents lose custody.

If you are the grandparent of a child that is involved in a Children’s Service (aka CPS, DFYS, DFS, etc.)  case, your (adult) child’s attorney may be able to give you the fax number of Children’s Services.  If not, try using the main fax number for the children’s services agency, which should be found on the internet.  (Please note, ODJFS keeps a listing of the children’s services phone numbers and fax numbers for all 88 Counties.  I recently tried to the call the phone number for one of those counties, and it rang endlessly with no answer.  Don’t be discouraged!  There are phone numbers for the main children’s services office, and many regional children’s services offices.  Ask a person who knows how to search the internet well to help you find one.  You can fax it to a couple of different fax numbers to make sure it gets through.)  Address the letter to both the caseworker and the supervisor of the caseworker.  It is okay if you don’t know their names, just make sure that you have the names and date of birth of the child and, if possible, the parents, included in the letter and spelled correctly.  If the parents go by different names, and not always their legal names, include that information as well so that the Children Services agency can match up the letter with the appropriate caseworker.  When you fax the letter, send a second fax with a copy of the fax confirmation sheet.  This sends a message that you can prove that you notified the caseworker regarding your intention to take temporary or legal custody of your grandchild, or become a care giver for your grandchild.

The other articles in the series can be seen here:

  • Part 1 (Table of Contents, Unsuitability)
  • Part 2 (Unsuitable aka Unfit, Never Married, Guardianship, Probate Court, Temporary Custody vs. Legal Custody)
  • Part 3 (Custody, Children Services cases)
  • Part 4 (Custody, Children Services cases, Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children)
  • Part 5(Custody, Visitation in general)
  • Part 6 (Visitation, Married Parents)
  • Part 7 (Visitation, Unmarried Parents, Unmarried vs. Married Parents, Parent Deceased)
  • Part 8 (Filing the Right Motion),
  • Part 9 (Grandparent Caretaker Affidavit, Grandparent Power of Attorney)

 

DISCLAIMER – read it!

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2. The info on our site is not legal advice because we don't know the facts of your case. If you want legal advice, you must meet with a lawyer.

3. Reading this website or sending documents to us does not create an attorney-client relationship and information or documents you give us will not be kept confidential unless you call us, tell us who is involved in your case, and let us do a conflict of interest check.

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(614) 225-9316

OHIO STATE BAR ASSOCIATION CERTIFIED FAMILY RELATIONS SPECIALIST

Ohio Bar Association Certified Family Law Specialist

INFORMATION

  • Adoption (4)
  • Alimony or Spousal Support (3)
  • Annulment (5)
  • Appeals (3)
  • Child Custody (39)
  • Child Support (15)
  • Civil Protection Orders & Domestic Violence (3)
  • Collaborative Divorce (1)
  • Contempt & Enforcement (12)
  • Dissolution , Amicable Divorce, No Fault Divorce (15)
  • Divorce (45)
  • Emergency Custody and Supervised Visitation (3)
  • Father's Rights and Paternity (12)
  • Grandparents Rights in Ohio (14)
  • Guardian ad Litem (3)
  • High Asset Divorce (2)
  • Interstate Family Law (2)
  • Jurisdiction and Venue (6)
  • Legal Separation (5)
  • LGBT Family Law (6)
  • Mediation (1)
  • Military Family Law (3)
  • Mothers' Rights (2)
  • Moving and Relocation (10)
  • Ohio County Visitation Schedules (86)
  • Parental Alienation (2)
  • Post Decree Cases (6)
  • Prenuptial Agreements or Antenuptial Agreements (3)
  • Psychological Evaluations (2)
  • Shared Parenting (2)
  • Step-Parent Adoption (1)
  • Tax Issues (1)
  • Temporary Orders (5)
  • Uncategorized (14)
  • Uncontested Divorce (2)
  • Unmarried Parents (6)
  • Visitation (6)

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Recent Posts:

  • Appealing Your Ohio Family Law Judgment Entry
  • The Ohio LGBT community’s new right to marry also means the right to step-parent adoption
  • Ohio LGBT Shared Custody Agreements: Get it in Writing!
  • Columbus Ohio Same Sex Divorce Lawyer & Prenuptial Agreement Lawyer
  • Same Sex Divorce in Ohio: U.S. Supreme Court Strikes Down Bans on Same Sex Marriage

Archives:

From our downtown Columbus offices we serve clients throughout Ohio. We also service areas such as Gahanna, Bexley, Blacklick, Columbus, Dublin, Hilliard, Lancaster, Westerville, New Albany, Pickerington, Powell, Upper Arlington, Worthington, Lancaster, Franklin County, Fairfield County and more. In addition, we serve clients in several Ohio Counties, including, but not limited to: Franklin County, Delaware County, Licking County, and Fairfield County.

Ohio State Bar Association Certified Family Relations Specialist

Ohio Bar Association Certified Family Law Specialist

Free Information

  • Adoption (4)
  • Alimony or Spousal Support (3)
  • Annulment (5)
  • Appeals (3)
  • Child Custody (39)
  • Child Support (15)
  • Civil Protection Orders & Domestic Violence (3)
  • Collaborative Divorce (1)
  • Contempt & Enforcement (12)
  • Dissolution , Amicable Divorce, No Fault Divorce (15)
  • Divorce (45)
  • Emergency Custody and Supervised Visitation (3)
  • Father's Rights and Paternity (12)
  • Grandparents Rights in Ohio (14)
  • Guardian ad Litem (3)
  • High Asset Divorce (2)
  • Interstate Family Law (2)
  • Jurisdiction and Venue (6)
  • Legal Separation (5)
  • LGBT Family Law (6)
  • Mediation (1)
  • Military Family Law (3)
  • Mothers' Rights (2)
  • Moving and Relocation (10)
  • Ohio County Visitation Schedules (86)
  • Parental Alienation (2)
  • Post Decree Cases (6)
  • Prenuptial Agreements or Antenuptial Agreements (3)
  • Psychological Evaluations (2)
  • Shared Parenting (2)
  • Step-Parent Adoption (1)
  • Tax Issues (1)
  • Temporary Orders (5)
  • Uncategorized (14)
  • Uncontested Divorce (2)
  • Unmarried Parents (6)
  • Visitation (6)

Recent Posts:

  • Appealing Your Ohio Family Law Judgment Entry
  • The Ohio LGBT community’s new right to marry also means the right to step-parent adoption
  • Ohio LGBT Shared Custody Agreements: Get it in Writing!
  • Columbus Ohio Same Sex Divorce Lawyer & Prenuptial Agreement Lawyer
  • Same Sex Divorce in Ohio: U.S. Supreme Court Strikes Down Bans on Same Sex Marriage

From our downtown Columbus offices we serve clients throughout Ohio. We also service areas such as Bexley, Blacklick, Columbus, Delaware, Dublin, Gahanna, Hilliard, Lancaster, Marysville, Westerville, New Albany, Newark, Pickerington, Plain City, Powell, Upper Arlington, Worthington, Lancaster, Zanesville and more. In addition, we serve clients in all Ohio Counties, including, but not limited to: Franklin County, Delaware, Licking, Logan, Fairfield, Union, Marion, Muskingum, Pickaway, Ross, Richland, Madison, Morrow, Knox, and more.

Archives:

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Columbus Ohio Divorce Attorney, Franklin County Family Law Attorneys and Ohio Custody Lawyer honoring the duty to serve the best interests of our clients.

Law Offices of Virginia C. Cornwell
408 Emory St
Columbus , OH , 43230
(614) 225-9316
Latitude: 40.00734
Longitude: -82.84535