Explain to the court the ongoing positive relationship between the child and the grandparent and be prepared to explain how the child's needs (education, religious upbringing, financial support) will be met. Examples include seeking custody after the biological parent(s) are arrested or convicted of a crime, or if suffering mental illness, engaged in an addiction, or involved with physically abusive partners… Both parents must sign a Consent Court Order for child custody that ultimately a judge will sign. Because most courts prefer that children live with their parents, a grandparent's right to obtain custody is typically limited to the following situations: The child's parents are deceased. There can be a great many reasons why you may recognize, as a parent, you will be unable to continue primary custody of your child due to your job, your health or financial factors. Technically, it's not. Grandparents are heavily involved in child-rearing in many families, sometimes as the primary caretakers. See FindLaw's article for state-specific court forms and related materials for child custody, visitation, and parenting plans. Court clerks across the country usually maintain forms for use by people not represented by attorneys. Custody X Change can help with this. grandparents with grandchild image by Pavel Losevsky from Fotolia.com. Obtain a voluntary child custody agreement form from the clerk of the court. In general, a grandparent seeking full care and custody of a grandchild may file a petition for custody with the court. File the custody agreement with the clerk of the court in the pending judicial proceeding. Typically, signing over full custody to a grandparent occurs during the course of some type of judicial action--an abuse and neglect case or a paternity proceeding, for example. Read More: Child Custody Laws: Grandparent Vs. Generally, the loss of custody is a temporary status, unless you have signed away the rights to formally give up control over your child’s care and welfare. Sharon Harleigh has been writing for various online publications since 2008. Child custody law is based upon the principle that the best interests of the child are the key to determining where a child should live. If parents wish to sign over custody rights to the child, it can save time and money in a court battle and often is less traumatic to the child. If you're planning to be gone only for a few nights, you may wonder whether officially signing over temporary custody is really necessary. Mother, "Child Custody A to Z"; Guy J. Execute the document in front of a notary public. Most custody disputes involve parents. The process of filling it in basically requires the insertion of names of the parties. However, there are some significant advantages to establishing temporary guardianship with someone you trust. If neither parent is appropriately equipped to be primary custody of the child, a court will consider a grandparent as primary custodian. Some circumstances that … If you already have a custody order from the courts, the only ways you can transfer custody are to either: put an agreement in writing with the other parent, or ask the court to modify your custody order. You, your child and the grandparent will need to appear before a judge to explain the custody arrangement. Grandparents. The New York Court of Appeals decided this in the. But there are exceptions, like: The parents are living separately; Steps To Get Custody of Your Grandchildren In order to gain guardianship of your grandchild, you must file a petition with the court. In case of a third-party presence, the custody of the child is usually given when both parents are unwilling or not able to take care of the child. N.C. Gen. Stat. Reasons to Sign Over Temporary Custody . 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