“Ok, I have a 5 year old disabled son, who mom my and dad raise now, they have tempoaray guardianship, I couldnt raise him at the time, I have 2 other kids, and was getting divorced, so it was very hard on me anyhow, but most of the time I lived with them.. I am out on my own, I presently donrt work, but my fiance does, we have a home, and been together for a year now, my mother and I are in an argument and she now wants nothing to do with me, and saying I cant see or visit my son, and she is going to get grandparents rights to my other two who are 11 and 8 years old, I live in GEORGIA, and was wanting to get some advice on what should I do, is there anything I can do without having a lawyer???”

The short answer to “is there anything I can do without having a lawyer?” is yes – lose your children.

Generally speaking it should be incredibly hard, if not impossible, for a grandparent to take custody away from their child – the quaint idea of “grandparents’ rights” is mostly just that – a misguided belief by parents of grown children that they have rights to their children’s children. However some states are starting to recognize grandparents’ rights (although rarely in a bid for custody – usually it’s for visitation).

But that said, any time your children are at stake, going into court without a lawyer is taking a very big risk, and in this case your situation is unusual because your parents have temporary guardianship over your five-year old. This, along with the fact that the court already has jurisdiction over your children through the custody action of your divorce, gives your parents a foot in the door. At very least, they may be able to have the temporary guardianship over your five-year old made permanent, and depending on what they are able to allege about the care and treatment of his siblings, they may be able to make a case for custody of the other two that you will not want to try to defend without a lawyer.