When grandparents take over
It’s an emotional and
financial challenge looking
after children faced with
the possibility of adoption
N
o grandparent wants to see their
precious grandchildren taken into
foster care. But when adult children
can no longer care for their own children
because they are incapacitated by sub-
stance abuse, mental illness or domestic
violence grandparents typically step in to
mind them until their parents sort them-
selves out.
Grandparents often have a close relation-
ship with their grandkids and can provide
much needed stability, safety, a regular
routine of meals and school attendance and
often improve their social skills.
In some cases grandparents take over the
full-time care of their grandchildren. It is a
momentous task but it can keep them out of
home care and adoption. There are amaz-
ing stories of tragic lives that were turned
around because of grandparents.
Grandparents are up for the costs of
being a parent all over again: childcare,
school fees, after-school care, technology,
not to mention housing, food and clothing.
It comes at a time in their lives when they
are trying to preserve their savings to fund
a long retirement.
Just how grandparents manage the situa-
tion depends on their finances and the chil-
dren’s age. Whether they are a self-funded
retiree, on the pension or working can
make all the difference. If grandparents are
still working it often means that they have
to rearrange their lives. Often they alter the
days or shifts they work, reduce their hours
or even change jobs. They need flexible
arrangements that accommodate school
hours and at least 10 weeks a year of holi-
days. Not surprisingly, grandparents often
bring forward their retirement plans.
It is a tricky time for them, juggling their
needs and the needs of often traumatised
children who sometimes don’t want to
leave their parents. Working out a vol-Susan HelyFAMILY MONEY
Susan Hely has been a senior investment
writer at The Sydney Morning Herald. She
wrote the best-selling Women & Money.untary solution with adult kids about the
care of the grandkids is ideal. It may be
preferable to keep the care and protection
authorities out of it because once they are
involved they have a bureaucratic process
that has to be followed.
Grandparents who want to seek custody
of their grandchildren aren’t necessarily
perceived to be the most appropriate carers
and they need to work hard to convince
the authorities that they are not part of the
problem, according to a Legal Aid lawyer.
Keeping an open mind and agreeing to
co-operative solutions with parents and
grandkids is best.
“Don’t be discouraged by government
agencies,” she says. “If you lose your chil-
dren to out-of-home care, it is really hard
to get them back, and then you lose your
child because what parent comes back from
losing their children?”
However, it is not always easy to come to
a co-operative solution between the grand-
parents and their adult children. Grandpar-
ents can seek a consent order for custody of
their grandkids but this can be a gruelling
and expensive process if your adult chil-
dren contest it. But without one it can be
hard to register kids for daycare or school,because you can’t access birth certificates
or medical records.
As the main carers, grandparents are
entitled to carer’s payments from the
Department of Human Services. There
are several federal government payments
available. As long as they have the legal
responsibility and day-to-day care of the
grandchildren, they may be eligible for
financial assistance. Typically they must
have at least 35% actual care of the child
to be eligible. They generally will not be
eligible if the parent of the child also lives
in the same household.LEGAL ASSISTANCE
MAY BE AVAILABLE
Legal Aid is a government-funded agency
in each state providing a range of services.
Grandparents can apply for help if they
meet the merit test of the case having a
reasonable prospect of success. They must
also pass the means test based on their
assets and income.
But often grandparents own their
own home and this disqualifies them
from obtaining aid, which is intended for
disadvantaged people. This means that
they must engage a private lawyer to act
for them.
It is important to use a lawyer who
has experience with care and protection
processes. Often there is a list of suitable
lawyers on Legal Aid websites. They may
charge lower fees than private lawyers with
big firms but it is always best to check and
compare costs.