Grandparents' Rights Snubbed by the Supreme Court

Grandparents' rights exist in every state to some degree but not all states treat grandparents rights equally. In the state of Iowa the Supreme Court finds the new law unconditional in regards to the parents rights. Many grandparents in Iowa have met with little regard to their rights in the Iowa court system after having their hopes raised by the Iowa Senate passing the new bill for Iowa Grandparents Rights to petition the Iowa court systems for aid in getting visitation to grandchildren.

At www.iowagrandparentsrights.com members have emailed the organization stating that they have met resistance finding a qualified attorney who even knows about grandparents rights and many have been told that the law does not exist. When the organization began contacting attorneys around the state of Iowa they also met resistance from attorneys but for a different reason. Many attorneys did not want to try taking a case of grandparents rights to visitation to court because the Iowa grandparents rights bill that was passed is very vague and undefined and that when going to court to submit their case the judge could basically turn a blind eye to the Iowa code 598.35 regarding grandparents rights. One judge even stated that a parent was better than any grandparent any day of the week.

Basically in Iowa your first hurdle when wanting to fight for your rights as grandparents to see your grandchildren is to actually acquire a lawyer who has heard of the law in the first place. The second hurdle will be to find a lawyer with enough drive and guts to take your case and represent you in court. The third and worst obstacle will be to convince the judge that you have or had a strong relationship with the child or children, is your relationship in the best interest of the child and will the judge uphold the law if you prove your case. If the child's family is intact, meaning both parents, the judge can and usually will decide against the grandparent. It is generally a case by case decision. About the only way you can win it seems is if you can prove the parents unfit which is nearly impossible because even in the worst conditions if the child is receiving minimal care the parent will not be found unfit.

At www.iowagrandparentsrights.com the members and the owner of the organization have emailed repeatedly the Iowa House and Senate and the Governor with little or no response to their questions. Iowa Grandparents Rights Code 598.35 was to be part of the January Iowa session and only five items were asked to be clarified regarding the rights of grandparents in the state of Iowa. To date only three legislators have answered the organization and one of them had lost his seat in the 2008 election. Why have laws when our own court systems can ignore them when it suits them and attorneys are afraid to try cases because they know that a judge can ignore any evidence they choose.