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1995 SESSION

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HJ 552 Study; rights of grandparents.

Introduced by: Arthur R. Giesen, Jr. | all patrons    ...    notes | add to my profiles

SUMMARY:

Rights of grandparents. Requests the establishment of a joint subcommittee to study the rights of grandparents. This resolution describes the many situations in which grandparents become the real, but not the legal, parents, and after assuming the many financial, emotional, and physical burdens of childrearing for years, face the sadness of having to relinquish custody of the child to its parents. In its deliberations, the joint subcommittee shall examine (i) adoption and custody laws, particularly as such laws relate to family relationships and long-term commitments to raising a child whose parents have not recognized this responsibility; (ii) how the Commonwealth's laws can be revised to provide fairness in these situations both to grandparents who raise grandchildren for years without legal custody and to the parents, who may love their children and wish to resolve the situation; and (iii) the best interests of the child in terms of health care, education, safety, and support. The joint subcommittee is requested to evaluate any modifications of present law which could provide grandparents in this situation with some rights under specific conditions, such as having raised the child for 10 years without any assistance, either emotional or financial, from the child's parents.


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