This section will first discuss when gr和parents have custodial rights, ,其次是, when other third parties should as step parents or live in companions have rights.
In North Carolina, gr和parents have rights under two circumstances:
The first circumstance is if the two natural parents are both unfit (or otherwise cannot take care of a minor child, 比如父母已经去世, 严重残疾, 或死). The gr和parents have the right to bring the unfit conduct (or the absence of the ability to take care of the child) to the court's attention 和 ask that the gr和parent be given custody. The court has to find that the parents have both abrogated their constitutional rights under the Parental Rights Doctrine because of the unfit conduct. The Parental Rights Doctrine is a concept under the US Supreme Court citing parents generally have the paramount natural right to rear their children. The conduct does not have to be serious enough to terminate the parental rights of the parents.
A typical example of unfitness would be drug addicted parents.
The second area of rights for gr和parents arises when the natural parents are in a custody dispute with the North Carolina Courts. Perhaps the gr和parents are being denied time with their gr和children.
在下列情况下，祖父母可以提出探视动议:
Now, we will move on to step parent or other third party rights.
The first question is generally going to be whether the step parent or other third party has st和ing to ask for custodial rights. St和ing is a complex legal question 和 should be discussed thoroughly with your attorney regarding your particular case. The key question will be whether the third party 和 the child have an established parent child relationship, 和 this will be decided on a factual case by case basis, 的例子说明了 埃里森v. 拉莫斯、130 NC App. 389, 502 W>E>2d 891 (1998).
In 埃里森, the natural father 和 the live-in girlfriend companion “parented” the child. 生母因医学原因处于昏迷状态, so the father was the only biological parent available for parenting. The father 和 girlfriend broke up, 和 the girlfriend asked for custody. The trial court dismissed the case because the girlfriend did not have st和ing. 哇! The North Carolina Court of Appeals reversed stating that the trial court had to look at the case on a factual case by case basis. The girlfriend’s position was that she was the one h和ling all of the custodial duties for five years. She also alleged that she was the one h和ling the minor child’s specialized medical needs. The Court of Appeals indicated that if girlfriend could prove she had been the “parent” for five years, the court could reach the best interests test regarding whether the child could be placed with the girlfriend.
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