Child custody question?

Question

My daughter lives with my parents but legally I still have full custody of her. I am very close with my parents and my daughter, and she is very happy with them. What I want to know is, is it possible in the UK to have joint custody between a child's parent and a grandparent? This is because it would be nice for my parents to have official custody and also so they can sign permission forms (if she needs to be treated in hospital or something) if they can't get in touch with me.

Answer 1

You can apply for a residency order, which will cover the consent aspects that you have questioned. You will need to speak to a solicitor, and it will involve a trip to the family courts to get the order drawn up, then it has to be present to a district Judge for approval. It can take quite a while but it would appear that your daughter will be staying with her grandparents for a long period of time, so it should be worth the wait.

Answer 2

I guess they would have to be appointed legal guardians or adopt your daughter assuming of course that your parents are happy with this. The problem is what happens to your daughter if anything happens to your parents - you need to make provision for her in this event to. See a solicitor and take legal advice. As her mother, one would presume you are at least able to be contacted!

Answer 3

Yes, it is possible, but that is NOT what you want to do. You should see a Solicitor about this. You can give them "Power of Attorney", which gives them all of the rights you just mentioned WITHOUT you losing any of your parental rights.

Answer 4

If you get a certified letter with you permission that they can. they wont need to have coustody. but on the other hand i dont know how it works in the uk.