To: The Washington State House, The Washington State Senate, and Governor Jay Inslee
Grandparent's Need Rights in Washington State
Washington State is the only state in the Union that does not give grandparents the right to petition the court for visitation of their grandchildren when the important grandparent/grandchild relationship is severed by unfair and thoughtless acts by one or both parents.
Why is this important?
My granddaughter has been asking, where's Nana and Papa? I had taken care of her 3 to 4 times a week for two years. We were very close. For years, I had "loaned" my daughter money when she called me in a panic because she couldn't pay her rent. It added up to several thousand dollars. She has never offered to pay any of it back. My daughter and her husband have a habit of over-spending and not paying their debts to the point of having no credit, getting evicted and being sued by collection agencies. I told them that I would no longer enable their poor spending habits by continuing to give them more money, because it wasn't helping them. I offered them help on forming a budget and getting better jobs. My daughter quit the minimum wage job she had and went on state assistance. They abruptly removed my granddaughter from my life, and now a grandson has been born. He is 9 months old. I've never met him, even though we live in the same area. By the way, my daughter has a BA degree. I have asked her many times to talk to me and work this out. She flatly refuses. I worry that my granddaughter thinks that I've abandoned her or that I stopped loving her. My heart is broken. This could be remedied with some regular, court-ordered visitation.