Temporary Child Custody by Extended Family

     Florida law, under Chapter 751, recognizes that there are numerous children in this state who are being cared for by grandparents and other extended family members. The most common example of this occurs when parents recognize that they are unable to provide the necessary care for a child and rely on a grandparent or other family member to provide such care. These situations have become extremely common in our society.

     It is possible, in such situations where an extended family member such as grandparents, can petition the Court to obtain “concurrent custody.” The extended family member must have physical custody of the child and in this way, the eligible extended family member can be awarded custodial rights to provide necessary care and custody of a child, concurrently with the child's parents. An “Extended Family Member” is most likely a person or persons who are relatives by blood or marriage to a parent.

            The filing of a Petition for Temporary or Concurrent Custody of a child by an extended family member will allow the family member to have access to the judicial system and seek a legal document from the court.  This is important because legal documents are needed by schools, doctors, dentists and other kinds of providers to establish that an adult has a relationship with a child and that adult exercises complete care in the absence of a participating parent. Such care can be for necessary and reasonable medical treatment, dental care, emotional and psychological treatment and other actions to protect a child's health. Additionally, an extended family member may be able to obtain copies of important records pertaining to the child's health care, education, official records such as the birth certificate or other necessary steps needed to protect a child's well-being.

            There are very stringent requirements of the law that pertains to these kinds of cases, which if not met, will not allow an extended family member, such as grandparents to have custodial rights or decision making over a child. For these reasons, the hiring of a Family Law Attorney is an important decision that must be made before you file any petitions with the Court.