Need help. Abandonment of a minor? New place to live?

Question

Okay so.

A mother abandoned their son. The son is 17 years old. Kicked him out on the street with a bus ticket to get out of state.

The son is now in a different state with the father (They both of joint custody they are divorced).. the father does not have financial means to support the child, so the child is now living with a friend down in that state.

The child needs to come back to this state to continue his education because school is about to start where he is now and has no transcripts. A family friend is willing to take care of the child where he was for education The father and the child both like this idea, and want them to live with the generous family.. BUT the mother blocked all contact and moved somewhere nobody can find her, so the child cannot get her consent. ... What can the child's father do so that the consent of the mother is not needed(after all, she mentally hurt and threw the child away on the street)... We cannot emancipate the child because that can take up to a year, and we cannot get an attourney because it costs too much money and can take awhile also. This needs to be done in a matter of 4 weeks because school is around the corner.

What should the family willing to take care of the child do to not get in trouble for taking care of a child for EDUCATIONAL matters and an exceptional living space and love without a neglectful mothers consent.

Thank you for reading this.

Answer 1

I don't know where you live but I can tell you about Florida. If the father draws up a paper and has it Notarized, stating that he is giving the family friend consent to house, feed and take care of the child, it should all be legal.

You need to make sure that the papers state that the person who will have the child, has the right to take the child to the doctor, dentist and any other medical place as needed. And most importantly, it needs to state that you can sign for anesthesia. Without that specifically stated, you will not be able to get the child any surgeries or dental work should anesthesia be needed. Once the paper work is signed and notarized, you should be able to make an appointment with a judge and have him sign the order. I don't know how long it is until his 18th birthday, but as long as one parent signs papers, giving you rights to do anything and everything necessary for the child, you should be alright. You may not be able to get a Judge to sign the order without the mothers consent but the paper the father gives you, should suffice in an emergency.

I don't know about where you live, but here, you can get on the county web site and print up the forms needed for this.  

Answer 2

If dad has joint custody.. it would seem like he has the right to sign papers on behalf of the child.  That would include power of attorney to someone to allow the son to live with them and attend school.

The ONLY thing that should be made absolutely clear, is investigate for certain that mom DID kick him out.. and that he isn't a runaway, who is saying this, to cover himself.  If she did kick him out, then she could be charged with abandoning the child, but at this age, it may not be worth the time involved.  

Answer 3

The family that wants to take him in should contact Social Services (or what ever it is called in that state) and find out about becoming foster parents.

Answer 4

First, if the father has joint custody, then the child could use his address to enroll in school in that area.  The father can get the child's transcripts sent to the new school. Then the kid can just live with the family friend.  The father will just have to sign off on all permission slips, etc.

Then, the father needs to work on getting sole custody of the child because the mother abandoned him, plus child support, though he shouldn't expect much.  In this situation, I would seriously suggest getting a lawyer to sort it out.