Many grandparents who live in Phoenix, Arizona, may have some or even all of their grandchildren living with them and under their care. While sometimes the parents of the grandchildren are also in the home, there are other times in which the parents are absent, and the grandparents have no legal authority to take care of their grandchildren in even basic affairs like education or medical care.
In these sorts of cases, Phoenix grandparents are simply going to require more authority than just rights to grandparents visitation. They will need the power to act as their grandchildren’s legal custodian. Fortunately, there is a way for grandparents to accomplish this.
While it will take a trip to court, the grandparents can attempt to set up a guardianship for their grandchildren. A guardianship is, basically, a court order that, in cases like these, gives grandparents the right to take care of their grandchildren as if they were the parents. In effect, a guardianship can grant grandparents both legal custody of their grandchildren and the right to decide where the grandchildren will live, which will usually be in their grandparents’ home.
On the flip side, guardianships are subject to ongoing court monitoring. One thing that the courts will look for during ongoing monitoring is whether there is a parent who is available to take care of the children involved, as the court will assume that if a parent wants the children and is in a position to care for them, the children belong with that parent.
Still, if a grandparent in Arizona is raising his or her grandchildren and discover they need some authority to care for them, then they should be aware that legal options are available.
