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Second Time Around:
Grandparents Raising Grandchildren

Sally M. Wagley, Esq., Levey & Wagley, P.A., Winthrop, Maine

Are you, or is someone you know, raising a grandchild? A recent study concluded that one in ten grandparents in the U.S. has cared for a child for six months or longer. Many young adults are unable or unwilling to be good parents themselves due to divorce, substance abuse, mental illness, or other problems.

Grandparents caring for a child or teen often do so when their own
resources – physical and financial – are limited. What information should you have, and where can you turn for legal and financial help?

  • A grandparent must have legal authority to make decisions for that child – about issues such as medical care and schooling. This can be done in several ways.

  • If the child’s parents are willing, they can sign over a power of attorney giving parental rights to the grandparent.
  • If the child is to be enrolled in school, however, the school may insist that you do more -- provide proof that you are the child’s legal guardian. To do this, you must file papers with the probate court. The process may be simple if the child’s parents agree, but will be more complex otherwise. The probate office at your county courthouse can tell you more.
  • If the child has been abused or neglected, the Department of Health and Human Services may be involved. You can seek to become the child’s foster parent, enabling you to make parenting decisions and get financial help. As a “caretaker relative,” you have the right to certain notices and information from the DHHS regarding their plans for the child.
  • Some grandparents – typically, where the parents have died or abandoned the child – may adopt the child, through the probate court. If the child has a disability or special needs, a subsidy may be available to the adopting grandparents.

If you are on a fixed income, and unable to get support from the child’s parents, other help may be available:

  • The child may be eligible for Social Security payments, because of his parent’s disability or death, or because the child himself is disabled.
  • The child may be also eligible for payments from the state’s Temporary Assistance to Needy Families program and health coverage through MaineCare (formerly known as “Medicaid”), regardless of your own income is.
  • If you need day care, the State’s child care voucher program may cover part of the cost.

(The information provided on this website is for informational and educational purposes only. This information should not be construed as rendering legal advice or offering an answer to a specific legal problem.)

 

Click on these links for more information:

Long Term Care Planning
Do you need a Living Trust?
Grandparents Raising Grandchildren
Legal Help for Caregivers
Do You Need a Power of Attorney?
What is Probate?
Elder Law Links