New grandparent visitation bill passes in Alabama Legislature
The Alabama Legislature on Wednesday passed a new bill that would give some grandparents the right to see their grandchildren, about five years after a similar law was deemed unconstitutional.This year's legislation, sponsored by Rep. Mike Jones, R-Andalusia, repeals the Alabama Grandparents Visitation Act, which was enacted in 2010
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Poly family. Myself, my legal husband (Louis) my handfasted husband (Warin). Breakup of previous polyfamily. Warin's previously legal, now ex-wife (Catchild) and her handfasted husband who became her legal as soon as the divorce cleared through (Ebon).
Warin and Catchild's bio daughters (Cub and Puppy, who both need new internet nicknames and who will murder me if I refer to Catchild as their mother.)
Catchild was custodial parent after the divorce. About 6 months later, Cub wanted to live with us. Because, we found out, Ebon was raping her. From the time she was 9. Among the many reasons she hadn't told anyone beforehand was that she was afraid of losing her family. There's a huge custody/foster mess I'm not getting into, except to mention that we still have the paperwork that got filed to ask the court to take the girls out of Warin's house spent maybe a paragraph on the RAPE OF A CHILD, and about 3-4 on how dangerous our polyfamily was. So, guess what, the girls get taken away from their dad, congratulations CPS/DCS; Cub still says that if she'd known what would happen, she never would have told anyone about Ebon. Great going, guys.
Girls initially get placed with Catchild's parents instead of into the foster system. They decide that they can't handle Cub (read: Setting up precedent for the trial that Cub is detached from reality and an unreliable narrator) and drop her back off at the sheriff's office, in her own words, 'like an unwanted puppy'. Grandparents support Catchild, throughout, backing her up, including where she took the stand as a witness FOR THE DEFENSE (non-hostile!) and threw her daughter under the bus.
After the trial (Ebon got convicted) Catchild wound up in this limbo where the only reason her parental rights weren't terminated was because it was part of a quasi plea bargain - either she voluntarily give up her rights, or she'd get charged as a accomplice. (I am skipping over A LOT; suffice it to say there was a shit ton of evidence.) Judge said the way it was put forward meant Catchild could not properly agree to give up her rights, so that didn't go through, but the girls' guardian ad litem told Warin that if Catchild was ever in contact with the girls again, he'd lose them. Catchild was not given any visitation rights, and she never filed for them, likely because she knew she wasn't going to get them.
She and her parents have never been forgiven by the girls.
Now, imagine that her parents could have at least taken us to court for visitation rights. Never mind that they (probably) wouldn't have gotten them. We still would have needed legal representation, which isn't cheap. Legal representation that her parents could have afforded. Chances are, in that situation, that the grandparents get visitation because the parents don't have the money to fight it. Or the time to take off work for court.
This is not even touching families that manage to sever ties with evangelical relatives after what would easily fit into the requirements for 'previous relationship with the child(ren)'. And, having lived in AL, I can safely say the good Christian grandparents would have a good shot at winning that visitation.
I am very glad to be living in WA right now.
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