GRAND Magazine - Fall 2024 - 7
grandparents rights
Q: Do grandparents' rights even exist?
A: Yes, no, and maybe.
BY NEIL TAFT
L
et's start at the very beginning.
Our rights as US citizens are
founded on the Constitution. The
average age of the signers of that
document was 44 years in 1788. There
is no mention of grandparents rights
in the constitution. Surprisingly, there
is no mention of parents rights either.
The divorce rate was virtually
non-existent in 1788, and now it tops
50%.
In the 1920s, the Supreme Court
inferred parental rights under the
14th Amendment, establishing that
" parents have a right to direct the
upbringing and education of their
children.
The rise in divorce rates has also
brought about significant changes
in family dynamics, including the
legal recognition of parental rights
and the emergence of discussions
7 GRAND FALL 2024
around grandparent's rights, especially
in cases where a divorce or
other family issues may affect access
to grandchildren.
In the 1980s, Senator John East
from North Carolina chaired a subcommittee
to address whether there
should be federal legislation about
grandparents' rights, among other
issues. The hearings concluded by
leaving the decision to the states. As
a result, awareness of grandparents'
rights increased in the states. Since
then, each state has addressed grandparents'
rights to varying degrees.
For example, Washington state's
Supreme Court ruled their grandparent
visitation statute unconstitutional,
making it difficult for grandparents to
exercise visitation rights, while New
York has enacted strong grandparent
visitation rights.
"
Please know that you are not in
this alone. There are, unfortunately,
a lot of grandparents facing these
same challenges.
"
Continued on next page
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GRAND Magazine - Fall 2024
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of GRAND Magazine - Fall 2024
Contents
GRAND Magazine - Fall 2024 - Cover1
GRAND Magazine - Fall 2024 - 2
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GRAND Magazine - Fall 2024 - Contents
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