In a custody dispute between a parent and a third party (non-parent), does the parent have an advantage?
Third parties who are not grandparents generally have no right to initiate custody proceedings unless the third party can demonstrate that they attained in loco parentis status which means the third party has assumed the usual obligations of a parent without having adopted the child. If a third party does have standing, the balance is tipped in favor of the natural parent and the third party has a difficult burden to sustain.
