Legal Aid of North Carolina

The United States Constitution and the North Carolina constitution protect against interference with "fundamental rights and liberty interests." Among these important rights is the right to make decisions as a parent. The courts have consistently limited the right of nonparents to interfere with a parent’s decisions. For example, the U.S. Supreme Court, in Troxel v. Granville, held that a state law that allowed anyone (including a grandparent) to get visitation with a child if he or she could show that it was in the best interest of that child violated a parent’s constitutional rights. However, in that decision, the Supreme Court acknowledged that grandparents are increasingly playing "an important role" in raising children in our country.

What if the child was left with me?

Even if a grandparent has been responsible for the care of a child, it doesn’t mean that the parent has lost his or her constitutional presumption. Several cases have held that asking another relative or friend to care for a child because of work, poor health or other difficulties does not deprive a parent of his or her constitutional presumptions. If the person caring for the child knows that the parent is leaving the child with him or her temporarily, there is no "abandonment." However, a grandparent or other caregiver may override the protections for the parent where it can be shown that the parent did not attempt to remain involved with the child and/or failed to support the child after placing the child with that caregiver.