Grandmother Gives Grandchild Cocaine in Ploy to Get legal decision-making authority

Some people will try anything to get what they want. This can be especially true when issues of Parenting Time arise. Whether the dispute arises from a divorce, unfit parents, or the death of parents, emotions can run high and drive many to make serious allegations against other parties involved. When this happens, the parties being accused should know what they can do to protect themselves and, more importantly, the best interests of the child.

A father and a grandmother may need that help after a bizarre set of circumstances. Reports indicate the child’s grandmother, who had lost a previous legal decision-making authority battle to the child’s father, gave the child packets of cocaine and told her to leave them in her father’s car and to show them to a teacher at school. Police claim the grandmother wanted the father to get into trouble so she could reclaim legal decision-making authority of her grandchild, whom she had raised since she was very little. After being questioned by police, the nine-year-old girl broke down and revealed her grandmother’s plot. The grandmother, however, denies the allegations and claims the father forced the girl to make the false claims. The grandmother now faces one count of child abuse.

Incidents like this can certainly draw a legal decision-making authority holder’s parenting ability into question. For this reason, it is important those embroiled in a legal decision-making authority dispute find adequate representation. A competent family law attorney will deny such allegations and seek to establish the fitness of the party seeking legal decision-making authority or Parenting Time rights.

Many times when such allegations arise the dispute can be resolved without going to court. An attorney can help spur this process to reach a Parenting Time arrangement that satisfies both parties and prioritizes the child’s interests. But if negotiations stall and the issue winds up in court, an aggressive attorney can fight with evidence, witnesses, and legal arguments to prove his client is best suited to care for the child.

Some wild accusations can be made when a family breakup is imminent. But one should not let those allegations be the end of the matter. Instead, by obtaining an attorney, a party to the issue can help ensure the dispute is resolved in the best way possible.

Source: The Huffington Post, “Police Say Grandma Gave 9-Year-Old Granddaughter Cocaine As Part Of Custody Plot,” Oct. 18, 2013