How can I get legal guardianship of my 11 year old niece?

Question

My brother has had custody of my 11 year old niece since she was 2 1/2 years old. Her mother has been in and out of her life, never taking full advantage of her visitation rights for more than a few months at a time as drugs have always proved to be more important than her child. My brother has agreed to sign consent forms granting me guardianship, the problem is her mother also has to sign and is on one of her many "I am going to be a mother" trips and is unwilling to sign. If I were to press the issue and take it to court, will the fact that my brother is willing to do this give her leverage to re-gain custody, even though she has only been out of jail for about 6 weeks?

Answer 1

What the court will want to know is, what is in the best interests of the child? Why do you and your brother want to change the guardianship? What will change for the child? If you live further away or out of state and are inclined to try to cut the mother out completely, that will not work.

Answer 2

You need to consult a family law attorney in your state.  There is no way to give advice on such a complex issue like that online.

Answer 3

Yes, they will question why your brother is willing to give away custody. That doesn't mean it will make the mom look any better.