Can I gain full custody of my nephew?

Question

My sister at 17 years of age gave birth to a beautiful baby boy three years ago. Not knowing what to do, almost aborted him then after birth almost put him up for adoption. My family wouldnt put up with it so my dad took care and has been since then. Now my sister and the father still have custody of the child. But here's the deal. The father was in and out of drugs and jail some of the time. I'm not really sure what he is doing now, i havent heard about him in a while. My sister is a meth abuser living with the child at my/her father's place. We all believed she had stopped doing it but I recently caught her at that house abusing the drug once again. I told my father but i don't really think anything is going to happen with her. Plus i do not believe that my father is giving that child the attention that he deserves. I would like to know what i can do to gain custody of that child since no one else in that house cares.

Answer 1

You can go to the DFACS and talk to someone there.  The first thing that will have to be done is an investigation to see if the mother is unfit.  You can't just take a child because you believe he/she isn't cared about.  If what you say is true you have a good chance at proving your case.  However, there is no guarantee that you will get the child even if they do take him. A better use of your time might be trying to get help for the mother.  

Answer 2

call children's protective services, anonymously, they will investigate and you can go from there..

Answer 3

The only way you can have a chance of getting custody (as long as your an adult) is to get CPS involved. They need to be involved anyway. The baby needs to be taken out of the custody of your sister as long as she is abusing drugs. Temporarily then CPS can place the child in your custody. They will give your sister a chance to get the baby back by taking classes and getting tested for drugs. She is not likely to follow through on it.

Answer 4

While calling CPS is a good idea, it does cause some problems as to who, if any of you in the family will get custody of the child.

Fact is, if they go in and see signs of sisters drug use around the baby, then, yes, they will remove him. This doesn't mean he will come straight into YOUR arms though as they will have to investigate you, and anyone else that shows interest in taking custody to be sure your home is fit for him, and that you CAN financially care for him. So, where does that leave him? In a foster home. And the investigations can take days, at times even weeks, depending on how busy they are, and how many case loads your nephews case worker has.

I would suggest going to the courthouse, and asking where you need to go in order to file for emergency custody. You can file your own paperwork, free of cost, and they will give you a court date. Be sure you're ready for the backlash that an attempt at taking custody will bring from sister and your dad. You can bet they aren't going to be thrilled at your thinking even he is unfit to raise a child, after all, he raised you didn't he? You won't even need an attorney to bypass the CPS and go file on your own.

Anyway.. I think the best approach would be first to talk to dad. Explain how you feel, and then maybe the two of you can talk sister into going into rehab, and getting the help she needs in kicking her addiction. She may even agree to GIVING you custody of your nephew until she is back on her feet and doing well again. Worth a shot anyway.

All else fails, off to court you go.

Good luck!

Answer 5

First the child has to be removed from the home for good reason. So you would have to report them to child protective services, you don't have to say your name or anything. They will investigate. If anything is going on there they will put the child in foster care and you can then apply to be a foster parent. You can request him and I am sure you will get him no problem. Then it would be a long drawn out case of fighting for custody and you might. The best thing to do and easiest is convince your sister and dad to sign him over to you. Tell them you will care for him and they can still see him if they want. Have you already tried this? They would just have to sign some papers, very easy. I think it's wonderful that you are wanting to make a differance in his life. He will be so lucky to have you.  

Answer 6

I would contact a lawyer!

Answer 7

Your first step is to contact social services - or child protective services. You may be granted temporary custody but only if they find that child is being abused and neglected. They will also have to survey your home and your abilityt o care for the child before temp custody is granted. Most often they'll give the biological parents the opportunity to clean up their act in a certain period of time and only if they haven't done what the court requested or voluntarily give up custody will you then get custody of the child. But only if the court finds you fit.

Warning" this can cause resentment within your family because that call to social services will cause them to be investigated for abuse. Also the child may end up in the system for who knows how long before you'll be granted custody (if in fact you are granted custody).

My suggestion would be to talk to yur sister and your dad - If the sister is a drug addict and you are the stand up gal that you think you are - for the sake of the child they should voluntarily give you custody.

If the child is your main concern and you know that the child is being neglected and/or abused I say call social serv and deal with the resentment afterwards.