In a recent Texas appellate case, paternal grandparents wanted the court to order a mother to give them access to their grandchild. The case arose after\u00a0a couple married in 2004 and had two children in the subsequent years. The father died, and at the time of his death, the kids were three\u00a0and two\u00a0years old.<\/p>\n
Before the father died, his parents had regular visits with the kids. The paternal grandmother cared for one of the kids for 15 months, while the mother prepared for a teaching career. The two kids started daycare after the second was born, but the grandparents transported them to activities. During the week, the grandparents had dinner with the parents and the older child. After the second child was born, the grandmother made them dinner, including special foods due to the older child’s food allergy.<\/p>\n
After the father died, the grandparents and the mother had a conflict. The mother testified she thought the house where\u00a0the father and kids lived was a gift. She learned after the father’s death that a deed of trust securing a note that the grandmother held encumbered the house. There may have been a disagreement about who owned a vehicle. The grandparents sued the mother in connection with the property disputes, but the kids had continued having visits after the father’s death until the holidays of 2012. The grandmother later testified that after they gave each other Christmas gifts, the mother told the grandparents they wouldn’t see their grandchildren again. The mother denied this.<\/p>\n