Under Pennsylvania’s child custody statute, 23 Pa.C.S., there are two sections that pertain to standing in order for individuals to bring an action for child custody. Section 5324 provides three categories of individuals who may bring an action for any form of physical or legal custody. The three categories are: (1) a parent of the child; (2) a person who stands in loco parentis to the child; and (3) a grandparent of the child who is not in loco parentis to the child and meets three additional criteria. Under Section 5325, grandparents are provided standing in three additional situations if they are seeking partial physical custody of the child. Prior to the enactment of the new custody act in 2011, ambiguities existed regarding grandparents’ rights and grandparents’ standing. The new custody act brought clarity to grandparents’ rights and grandparents’ standing. Basically, only third parties (which include grandparents) who are in loco parentis to the child have the ability to petition for custody in Pennsylvania. However, grandparents are the only third parties who are provided standing in situations when they are not standing in loco parentis to the child.

The recent case of D.G. v. D.B., 2014 Pa. Super 93 (May 2, 2014), provides further analysis of what constitutes standing in loco parentis in order to bring a custody action in Pennsylvania for primary physical custody. The D.G. case pertained to a maternal grandmother (D.G.) seeking primary physical custody of her grandson (E.B.). The opposing party was D.B., the maternal grandmother’s daughter (the child’s mother).

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