Abstract:
This paper intends to address the main legal relationships between elders’ law and family law. Both study areas encompass the figure of grandparents, their role, as well as their relationship with the other members of the family.
With this framework we will address matters related to grandparents playing the role of temporary caregivers as well as main guardians. The different roles will be an answer to family situations. In response grandparents will in some cases complement and in others substitute parents in their parental responsibility. At the same time the proposed legal approach will deal with the subsidiary nature of the support obligation between grandparents and grandchildren. The human rights perspective includes a broader reading of the Children Rights Convention (article 27) when analizing the referred support obligation. This reading is also applied to analize the visiting conflicts which arise when parent(s) deny the relationship between grandparents and their children. What does the law say about these conflicts? Which should be a more appropriate legislative solution according to the best interest principle? Which is the role of law operators? What space should be recognized to interdiscipline and mediation? These are the main themes addressed in this essay.