Families do not always fit neatly into biological or adoptive relationships. A stepparent, grandparent, relative, former partner or other caregiver may have played a significant role in raising a child—sometimes for years—without having formal legal status as that child's parent.

When that relationship is disrupted or questioned, figuring out what information matters and where to begin can feel overwhelming.

Resolve WNY provides nonlegal support to help caregivers organize their history, document their involvement and prepare for conversations with attorneys and other appropriate professionals.

Who This Service May Help

This service may be useful for:

• Stepparents and former stepparents
• Grandparents and other relatives
• Current or former partners who have helped raise a child
• LGBTQ+ families with non-biological parents
• Long-term caregivers
• Kinship caregivers
• Individuals who have consistently performed significant parenting responsibilities without formal biological or adoptive status
• Other adults seeking help organizing a substantial caregiving history

How We Can Help

Depending on your circumstances, support may include:

• Developing a detailed caregiving history
• Creating parenting and caregiving timelines
• Organizing communications and records
• Organizing school, medical and activity-related involvement
• Identifying and organizing records demonstrating day-to-day caregiving responsibilities
• Organizing financial and household information related to caregiving
• Creating chronological summaries from information you provide
• Organizing supporting documents and exhibits
• Preparing an attorney-ready information packet
• Developing questions for an attorney consultation
• Communication and boundary-setting coaching
• Practical support navigating a stressful family transition

Turning Years of Caregiving Into an Organized History

When someone has helped raise a child over an extended period, the relevant history may be scattered across years of messages, school records, medical appointments, photographs, calendars, financial records and everyday family life.

Resolve WNY can help turn that volume of information into an organized chronology and supporting record so that you—and any professionals assisting you—can understand the history more efficiently.

Preparing to Work With an Attorney

Questions about whether a non-biological caregiver has legal standing, custody or visitation rights, or another legally recognized relationship with a child require legal analysis.

Resolve WNY does not make those determinations.

Instead, we can help you arrive at an attorney consultation with an organized caregiving history, supporting documentation and clearly identified questions. This can help the attorney focus on the legal issues rather than spending the consultation trying to reconstruct years of family history.

Support Beyond the Paperwork

These situations can involve significant changes in relationships, communication and access to a child. In addition to documentation support, Resolve WNY can provide nonclinical coaching and practical support around communication, boundaries, organization and preparing for difficult conversations.

Important to Know

Resolve WNY does not determine whether an individual is legally considered a parent, whether someone has standing to seek custody or visitation, whether a particular legal doctrine applies, or what legal action a person should pursue. We do not provide legal advice, legal strategy or court representation.

Questions regarding parental rights, standing, custody, visitation or other legal remedies should be addressed with a licensed attorney.

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