How Mediation Services Can Help Resolve A Custody Issue In Your Family

29 July 2016
 Categories: , Articles


If you feel that your grown child is not properly taking care of his or her children, you might want to intervene in the situation to protect these kids. As a grandparent, this is not an easy fight to take. Not only can it be costly and time-consuming, but it can also create major fights within your family. If you want to do something about this situation, you may want to look into mediation services available through a family lawyer.

What Are Mediation Services?

Mediation is a process used to settle many types of disputes, and this includes family disputes over children. It involves both parties in a dispute meeting together with a third party, who is neutral and there only to find a resolution for the problem. For the problem you are having, a family lawyer would be there to help you and your adult child come up with an agreement as to what should be done to solve this issue.

In order for this to occur, your adult child would have to agree to attend the meetings with you and the lawyer. Next, the lawyer would want both parties to express their sides and opinions. The lawyer might ask you for evidence that proves what you are saying is true. For example, if you believe your child is exposing your children to things they should not see, tell the lawyer and show any evidence that supports this claim.

The lawyer will not be there necessarily to solve this issue, but he or she is actually there to help both of you solve the problem in a way that would be best for the kids and both parties involved.

What Benefits Does This Offer?

If you truly feel that your grandchildren are not being cared for properly, you could use this method or fight a custody battle in court. Fighting for custody of these children can be very expensive, and it is often hard to win custody cases. If you can simply meet together with a lawyer and your child to discuss these issues, you might be able to find a resolution that you are happy with, and you will not have to spend a great deal of money.

What Types Of Resolutions Can You Come Up With?

Mediation for this particular problem does not have certain resolutions you must choose. Instead, every case is handled uniquely, and resolutions are determined based on the individual cases. There are a variety of different things you could come up with, though, so you can feel better about the situation, and here are some options:

  • Temporary custody rights – One option is to talk about getting temporary custody rights of your grandchildren. This would take the consent of your child, and you could state that you want to give your child time to take care of some of the issues he or she is struggling with.
  • Visitation rights – If your child is not allowing you to see your grandkids because of this big fight you are in, you could use mediation as a way of getting visitation. This is a good option if you are not in a position where you could handle having the children full time.
  • Requirements your adult child must meet – In addition, you could use the time with a lawyer to ask your child to do several things that will help him or her be a better parent. This could include counseling services or drug addiction treatment services.

Whatever agreements you reach during mediation will become legal agreements between you and your adult child.

If you are overly concerned about the well-being and safety of your grandkids, talk to a family law attorney. He or she might suggest using mediation as the first step of the process. If you would like to learn more, contact a lawyer today.


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