In the Place of a Parent: How the Courts View In Loco Parentis
Attorneys often speak a language that sounds foreign to many people today. Much of this legalese stems from Latin terms that represent the foundation of our modern legal codes. One of those terms can play a big role in legal custody cases: in loco parentis.
What does it mean to act in loco parentis?
By definition, in loco parentis means “in the place of a parent.” In Pennsylvania, the courts provide greater detail, stating that the status of in loco parentis can be granted to “one who has assumed and discharged parental duties on behalf of the child but is not a natural parent.” In a nutshell, it refers to the legal responsibility of an individual or – in certain circumstances – an organization to perform some of the responsibilities of a parent. This legal doctrine is relevant in various scenarios, including instances where a different family member assumes a guardian role or when a teacher’s choices impact a student.
What role in loco parentis standing plays in child custody disputes?
In loco parentis relationship can become a major factor in child custody disputes where one party, although not a biological mother or father, has played a significant role in a child’s life and wishes to ask the family law court for some kind of custody status. We often see it in families with stepchildren, with grandparents who are intimately involved in the care of a child, as well as between unmarried couples and same-sex couples.
What are the requirements in family law to act in loco parentis?
It is up to the court to decide if an individual does indeed fulfill the criteria to act in place of the parent. But being given the loco parentis status by the court does not guarantee or grant custody. It simply means the court has decided the individual has standing to pursue custodial rights. There are three main factors that determine if a person is adequate to act in loco parentis: the discharge of parental duties, the asumption of parental status and the consent of the parent.
Technically it is also required that the person filing to act in place of the parent must have lived with the child for over six months. If grandparents want to file for custody the child must has lived with them for 12 months before the parents have taken the child back.
Get Expert Help with Your Legal Custody Case
Family dynamics today can be very complicated and every situation is different. If you believe you should have rights to the custody of a child, even partial custody, you need to seek for specific legal advice of legal counsel. Case law on this matter varies and the best way to ensure the court will award you in loco parentis standing and therefore have the right to pursue child custody is to have us review the specifics of your situation and determine the best course of action moving forward. Call us (717) 502-5000.
Other Frequently Asked Questions About In Loco Parentis
Who has legal authority to take protective custody of a child in PA?
When authorities believe a child is being neglected or abused, a social worker or police officer can take them into protective custody.
Related: Pennsylvania Child Custody Factors
Why is loco parentis important in education?
The concept of has crucial importance in educational institutes: schools and teachers are required to act as responsible parents with children under their supervision and consequently become liable for students’ foreseeable injuries.
The concept of “in loco parentis” was historically important in education to establish the authority of school officials over students and to ensure that schools could take necessary actions to maintain discipline, safety, and order among students. Schools were seen as having a duty to provide for the physical and emotional welfare of students, much like a parent would for their child.
Over time, the principle has evolved and, in some cases, been limited by legal changes and increased focus on individual rights. Courts have recognized that students also have constitutional rights that must be respected while they are at school. As a result, schools must balance their authority with respecting students’ rights to due process, freedom of speech, privacy, and protection from unreasonable searches and seizures. The application of the in loco parentis doctrine can also extend to decisions regarding special education services, accommodations, and interventions for students with individual needs.
I raised Thane since he was 8/9 months old,he's 12 years old now,every holiday,90, percent time he's with me,now his mom back in jail again for years ,dad is career criminal ,the school has assumed for year,I guess this is loco parentis,now his mom dad gram have shared legal ,gram has primary physical custody,we lived together ,split up 6/7 years ago,but Thane stays with me.now school knows ,I live on social security disability pay rent lights ,car life insurance ,have cable internet phone get 1035 a month ,HELP
We have been taking care of, with no help from his parents and very few visits, our god son for over a year now. He was one month old when they had left him with us and we would like to seek full custody.
The father is a registered sex offender and can not keep a job, can barely pay the rent on a room they live in and the mother has admitted smoking pot to which she has no medical card and also smokes other drugs. She also has a very serious and several mental disorders that she is not getting treatment for. I have several messages from her that say she is “cutting” herself. Cys is involved this entire time and still they have not gotten the courts into it which is nothing I have ever heard. Do you know what our chances would be of getting full custody?
My most treasured sweet granddaughter who will be 10 in June her name is violet and her mother realized that I knew how badly and tortured beyond belief as her mother is a covert narcissist and her father who was my son beats and batters the child to the point if she even drops a drop of water she goes into seizure like convulsions due to the trauma he has put her through as well as the mother .Violet is NEVER ALLOWED OUTSIDE! she is in prison in that household she is even homeschooled as one of the invisible children ! She's invisible to society & she's not even allowed to sit on furniture . She just stands there waiting to be picked up and abused and used like a vacuum cleaner of a sort & we haven't seen each other for a long time but I was her person I was the one that gave her all the love and support and she is the most special person on the planet however since we've been alienated I know this child she feels so unloved and worthless and they cripple her to the point that she won't even ask for food because that would cause a problem since she's the scapegoat . Everything is her fault ..I was recently put on Ard from the mother who completely lied and did a complete smear campaign on me in the beginning way ahead of me like a year ahead I don't know what's happening but she did that for a reason and CPS & the police dont even bother going to the house and somebody is calling CPS on this child and it's not me and when that happens I get a phone call from somebody screaming at me and threatening me that I need to stop calling CPS and I'm in my room COWERING IN FEAR for this child knowing somebody called CPS and they CONTINUALLY ENDANGER HER! it is BEYOND DESPICABLE and THIS CHILD NEEDS HELP! I'VE EVEN GOT PHONE RECORDS AND FOUND OUT HER MOTHER HAS BEEN "SPOOFING" MY PHONE!
I know I could be her help because I would not pressure her or anything just seeing her grandmother would bring some sort of life back to her. I have no idea what's going on with her and I mean this 100% HER DADDY IS GOING to KILL HER! AND NOBODY WOULD BLINK AN EYE THAT'S HOW INVISIBLE SHE IS! HE is BEYOND VIOLENT and his eyes look like black holes it is SATANIC LIKE! THEY ARE SO SADISTIC to this LITTLE GIRL her MOTHER NEGLECTS, BELITTLES HER, GASLIGHTING HER BULLIES HER, PUTS her down doesn't even homeschool the child. She is just propped in a hard chair in front of the computer and at the end of the day her mother flicks off the answers of zero education. I realize all the Pennsylvania rules for parents that they can do whatever they want to the child but what about a child??? What about their rights!!?? They have a right to be safe ! ..and I have already been denied visitation due to the mother's lies & defamation ! She even brought groups of people in which are referred to " Flying Monkeys!"
The main goal of the mother is to ALWAYS BE THE "VICTIM!"
VIOLET THRIVED WHEN WE HAD SLEEPOVERS AT MY HOUSE & HER ONLY REQUEST WAS TO EAT DINNER AT A TABLE WITH GRANDMOM & POP-POP.
These most precious memories are all dissolved due to her trauma there's no room for Grandma she can't talk about Grandmom she has to hear horrible things about Grandma but let me tell you this child was so brilliant and imaginative I've never met another person like her she's that special that poor child that poor poor little baby girl the love we have we shared and she's petrified I've witnessed hundreds of accounts of abuse I knew she was silenced this child was so intelligent that she always had the video chat camera ain't and I would have front row seats sadly with all the abuse that she encountered and when that phone hung up I would die every time not knowing what they would continue to do to her and the things I could mention are just appalling I don't know what to do because the judge said that I can't seek visitation because of the mother's lies he bit right into them the problem is she is so covert she looks so innocent and soft spoken that people can't get past that it took me 10 years 10 years and you were always walking on eggshells imagine that poor little baby and she even sets the child up right before her daddy gets home and he sees Violet sitting at the table maybe with a tiny bowl of Play-Doh and he curses around what the f is wrong with you if I've ever pick her up and shakes or it is disgusting and sickening and I'm the one that has been buried alive along with this child please help me I was told by CPS I am never allowed to call CPS I am never allowed to call the police what the hell was that I called CPS one time after 2 hours of not wanting to do it because I called for a wellness check because my phone was screaming something about her and the cop started screaming at me and hung up he hung up the phone for concern of a minor child because it was the end of his shift and all the lies and defamation that the mother has laid out there which is etched in stone forever everybody is piggybacking off of her lies and telling me I can't do anything or I've never done anything I have to sit here like a lump of shit worrying to death about being made aware by a probation officer or CPS calling me after I've already had a stroke because of this and they're screaming at me telling me to stop calling and I tell them I don't know what you're talking about what was that does is make me aware that this child is in danger yet again please help me please help this child please help violet please please please she was allowed to be a child at my house she was allowed to be.