Can I sue for custody of my baby sister?

Question

My dad and his wife (NOT my mom) are not fit parents of my baby sister, Danielle. I'm sure theres a way I can get custody of her, I just don't know where to begin. Help?

P.S

Yes, I'm over 18.

Answer 1

Start with a phone call to a lawyer specializing in family law. You can locate one at either of two websites, if you don't know of one.

http://findlaw.com lets you indicate the general area of your legal issue and your location, by city or zipcode, then produces a list of attorneys. There’s also an option to submit your legal issue and location plus contact information, and any attorney interested in the case will get in touch with you. There’s no guarantee any will be interested, of course.

http://www.martindale.com/ is also a site for finding attorneys where you are located who handle your type of case. It purportedly rates the attorneys, too. However, within the legal community the ratings are considered more an indicator of hourly fee than of competence. Any attorney who’s been rated at all, even not very highly, should represent you well. Those who are unrated may lack experience.

The attorney is going to want to know a lot about the nature of the unfit parenting and about your resources to be a better guardian. You will probably need specific proof of multiple instances of abuse or neglect, and very solid financial footing.

Answer 2

YES.... you can. you can file a petition for custody at the court. there might be some cost to do this for a fiing fee. Your dad will get served wih a copy of this and once he responds a court date will be set, bring the matter in front of the judge, if you can prove that your sister is not being properely taken care of and that you are able to provide a safe and secure home for her you the judge might find in your favor. but if you dont have any kind of evidence that your sister is not cared for with your Dad then i dont think that the judge will take her from her Dad. And most of the time when i Child is taken away from their parent they do what is called a reunification plan with social services-- giving the parent the chance to get there **** together.... thats how it works here anyway...GOOD LUCK

Answer 3

Not likely.  If you could prove that they were not fit parents, then Children's Services (whatever name it has in your area) MAY act to remove the child from their care.  But completely severing parental rights takes very severe misconduct over a long period.  Only in cases where harm to the child is happening will such action normally be taken.

IF (a very big IF) all this happens, CS will go looking for a permanent foster parent.  If you have the requisite skills, income, etc, they may let you act as foster parent.  Maybe, if you're very lucky.

She's not yours, she belongs to (and with) her parents.  If they are totally unable to care for her, then and ONLY then will she be better off with someone else.

Answer 4

There is almost no chance that a court will award custody of a minor child to a sibling unless there is evidence of physical harm.

Stay in touch with the family and offer your sister support whenever you can. These things tend to work their way out. You are a brave person.