Juvenile Custody and Grandparent’s Rights

Many children are born outside of a married relationship.  In these cases, until rights are legally established through the local juvenile court, under Ohio law, the Mother is presumed to be the sole custodian of the child and the father has no legal rights.  The child support enforcement agency can assist mothers who have children outside of a marriage, with establishing a court order for child support.  However, when these orders are established, although paternity is either proven or acknowledged by the father, the father still does not have any legal rights to the child.

Establishing Parental Rights

An action must be filed in the juvenile court to establish parental rights and responsibilities to set forth a parenting schedule or in some cases, document and enforce a shared parenting plan.  Our lawyers have trial tested experience from the beginning to the end of these types of cases.

We also have experience in representing parents, grandparents, or other placement people in cases involved alleged abuse, dependency and neglect of the child.  Typically, in these cases, the local children services agency is involved.  It is of utmost importance to have a skilled advocate on your side – and we can certainly be that firm for you.

Grandparent’s Rights

If you are the Grandparent and desire to carve out visitation or companionship time with your grandchild(ren), you have rights.  You may also be in a situation where your child and his or her significant other/spouse are unfit to care for your grandchildren.  You have rights under Ohio law to ask for custody to help protect your grandchildren.  If you have questions about whether you have rights, please contact our office for a confidential consultation.