April 18, 2006

Grandparents Raising Grandchildren and the Implications for Inheritance

Kristine S. Knaplund says that the United States is seeing thousands of grandparents raising their grandchildren because the children's parents are ill, disabled, imprisoned, or otherwise unable to care for them. Congress recognized this phenomenon in 1996 when it directed the Census Bureau "to find out about grandparents who were the primary caregivers for their grandchildren, and if this relationship was temporary or permanent." In 2002, Boston's GrandFamilies House opened to house twenty-six families. In December 2003, Congress passed the American Dream Downpayment Act, which included provisions to create a demonstration program to develop intergenerational housing. Resource guides and Web sites such as Generations United have sprung up to help grandparents who are again raising young children.

One area of this new trend has not been explored in depth: inheritance. A common assumption is that childcare arrangements are temporary, and so grandparents have no involvement with social service agencies or courts. The reality, however, is that almost forty percent of the time, the care continues for five years or more. Like most people, the grandparent, concerned with the day-to-day care of a young child, has not executed a will. If the grandparent dies, the laws of intestacy in all states will allow the child's living parent to inherit but will give nothing to the child. This Article will discuss existing and proposed doctrines in order to explore ways that such grandchildren could inherit.