Third Party Custody Rights

May 9, 2025

There are several groups of people, other than parents who have an abiding interest and concern for children that have sought custodial time with the children. These include Grandparents, Step-parents, Aunts, Uncles, and siblings. The Pennsylvania Courts have acknowledged the rights of persons who have acted in loco parentis, or who have acted in place of a parent, as many step-parents have, the right to have contact, even primary physical custody of the child or children, whether or not they are related by blood or marriage to the children. However, although the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania has stated that there is no presumption of a preference for the parents of the child, as there can be no presumptions in custody cases since the standard is always what is in the “best interests” of the child, third parties have an increased burden when opposed to actual biological parents. The rights of step-parents have been recognized in Pennsylvania since 1977.

Pennsylvania statutes have specific provisions for grandparents. Their rights to contact with a child survive a step-parent adoption. They also have partial custody rights if the child lived with them for at least twelve (12) months, the grandparent’s child is deceased, or the child’s parents are separated. However, there is case law concerning the provision of those statutes that requires that such partial custody does not adversely affect the child/parent relationship. One of our attorneys, Richard A. Katz, represented a parent in one of the few Appellate Court cases on this issue that is reported in Pennsylvania.

Grandparents also have rights to custody, even primary custody, if there is a danger of neglect or abuse due to drug or alcohol use by the parents and the grandparents have had a continuing involvement with the child. Again, there is no presumption in favor of the parents, but there is an increased burden on the grandparent seeking custody. The United Supreme Court struck down a Washington State statute that provided for grandparents' rights as vague and overbroad. However, most analysts view the specifics in the Pennsylvania Statues as meeting the test of the Supreme Court. Unfortunately, the Pa. Supreme Court has ruled on several occasions that siblings, aunts, and uncles who have not acted in the place of a parent have no right to file for contact with the minor children. There simply is no statute that confers any rights to them, nor does the case law support any inherent right. This can be especially troubling when one of the parents is deceased, and the older siblings feel it best to intervene. Of course, the local child welfare agency, or Children and Youth Agency, should be notified to investigate any neglect or abuse of a child, no matter whether there is only one parent or two. The siblings or other close relatives, if it is established that there has been neglect or abuse that fits the Agency’s definition, can request that the children be placed with them (kinship care). The Agency, however, must agree or the children will be placed in foster care. Also, in 1977, the Superior Court of Pennsylvania issued a decision granting, for the first time in Pennsylvania, a step-parent the right, in certain circumstances, the right to contact with his step-children.

There the issue rested upon the assessment of the step-parent acting in loco parentis. Attorney Katz was involved with that case, as well. As our society has become more and more fragmented, and isolated, there seem to be fewer opportunities for children to be taken care of by relatives in the area, or who have established a close relationship. We do not see many communities where everyone knows everyone else, and if the kids did something wrong, by the time they got home, someone else’s mother or father has called the child’s parent and they are in trouble as soon as they walk in the door. It may take a village, but there seem to be fewer and fewer villages. If you feel that you should intervene in a child’s custody, it is best to consult with a lawyer familiar with these issues before asserting a position with the current custodian. If you would have no right to intervene, being able to stay close and have whatever contact you can is better than alienating the custodian to the point where you are unable to monitor what is going on. Children need as many people as possible that they feel love them and in whom the can confide.

A man is holding a little girl in his arms in an office.

It Is a Wise Child that Knows Who His Father Is

May 9, 2025
It may be one of the oldest and strongest presumptions in the Law, but it seems to be time for the Courts to wake up to the reality of modern living and the complicated interpersonal relationships we weave. There were, no doubt, good social reasons why, in the past, the Courts were protective of the apparent “legitimacy” of children. Being known as, and being called, a bastard had a much more devastating impact on a child than it would today. Now it is more of a general insult rather than a direct expression of a person’s parentage. However, it is becoming less and less accurate that all children born within the dates of a marriage, even while the spouses reside together, are the children of the husband. As more and more children are born to unmarried mothers, and to families whose living arrangements are more fluid than remaining living with the father of the children, it is becoming increasingly more important to acknowledge the biological ties than to turn a blind eye in favor of a legal fiction.
A young boy is sitting at a table counting coins.

Support Issues

May 9, 2025
There are several mechanisms for parents who have custody of their children to obtain some child support in Pennsylvania when the other parent is not voluntarily providing it. The most obvious is, of course, to file at the local Domestic Relations Office (DRO). If there is a Protection From Abuse petition filed, a request for an Order for temporary support can be presented, as well, in that action, but there is a requirement to file at DRO within ten (10) days of the entrance of the temporary order. The temporary amount will continue until DRO determines the appropriate amount. DRO is required to apply the Supreme Court’s guideline figures if the parents are unable to arrive at a figure they can both agree is appropriate. Those guidelines, required by Federal Law, are reviewed and changed every four (4) years and, on May 12, 2010, new guidelines were implemented. There have some important changes in the guidelines including the changing of the amounts of support required based on incomes. Essentially, the guidelines are a chart that puts the combination of both parents’ net incomes on the left side of the chart and the various amounts of money (Basic Support Obligation - BSO) deemed necessary to be contributed by both parents based on the number of children as columns beside the income ranges. Then the non-custodial parent’s obligation is a result of multiplying the amount for support on the chart indicated for the number of children and the joint net incomes by the percentage the non-custodial parent’s income is of the total joint net income.
A little girl is crying while her parents argue in the background.

Victims and Confidentiality

May 8, 2025
There clearly is a need for some victims of domestic violence to keep their current whereabouts confidential. Some abusers do not have any respect or concern about Court Orders when their emotional or financial interests are concerned. Confidentiality is an essential component of many victims' plans for safety and security. However, there are practical consequences that have an impact on the right of the opposing party to have safe and appropriate contact with the children of the parties or the need to be able to deliver legal papers to the victim in order to disentangle the parties from such things as titles to vehicles, divorce proceedings, and custody arrangements for the children.