Another lawyer request....

[JESTER]

I posted this over in the AAG section and was told there might be some who can give me some info in here.


Kind of an odd situation. And I'll spare all the details for the sake of boring you guys and respect for the parties involved.

Quick run down. My dad is getting divorced from his current wife. They have sister who is 14. Now, more then likely my dad's wife will try to keep custody of my sister. Problem is - the woman is borderline crazy and can say some pretty ugly things and treat people like total crap when she isn't happy. She is the main reason I moved out of my dad's house when I was younger - I was suicidal and just could not take her any more. Now my sister has a slight learning disability (was malnourished as a child when she was in an orphanage) and needs a bit of attention when it comes to her school work.

Because of the two issues and lack of a being a truly fit mother and the attention needed for her schooling - my wife and I have talked to my dad about taking custody of her (if all parties are open to this) so that she can get out of a hostel environment and get the attention for her school that she needs (my wife is about to graduate with her degree in early childhood development). I ran this by my dad and he said he would ask his wife - but he has not mentioned it again to me.

Now, my wife is very adamant that we need to have my sister come up here and wants to know if there is anything legally that we can do in order to make this happen.

While I love my sister very much and want the best for her, here are the issues I see with this -
1. We really have no real grounds to prove that she is an unfit mother (in my opinion) - other then my experiences and things my dad has told me (not sure if he would testify about it or not), I don't think we have a case (again, my opinion)
2. IF we were to prove her as an unfit mother, why on earth would the courts grant us custody when my dad is and would be a sound father and guardian. He would need some help, but he is more then capable of taking care of my sister.

I just wanted a professional opinion on this. Yeah, this is the very basic run down on the situation but should be enough to get some feed back. My wife and I hate this situation for my dad and his wife - our main concern is my sister. I just see this getting real messy fast and don't want to see her carried right through the middle of it.

 

[tunedin302]

My dad is getting divorced from his current wife. They have sister who is 14. Now, more then likely my dad's wife will try to keep custody of my sister. Problem is - the woman is borderline crazy and can say some pretty ugly things and treat people like total crap when she isn't happy.

This doesn't make sense to me. I take it you mean that your dad and his current wife have a "daughter" together. If this is the case then your dad and his current wife are the biological parents of (I'll assume) your half-sister (being your father's blood line). Is this correct? The question that needs to be answered is what is the blood relationship, if any, of your dad, his current wife, and you to your "sister".

If your father's current wife is the biological mother then taking away custody is very difficult. Some party would have to file a motion to terminate her parental rights. Courts are very reluctant to terminate a biological parents rights unless it is in the best interest of the child. Often, this means if the parent is addicted to drugs, entering a rehab, endangers the child, etc. Just simply being mentally unstable will not do it since most parents are mentally unstable from time to time.

Assuming the motion for termination is granted then you or another party would have to petition the court for adoption. Again, you would have to show that this was in the best interest of the child. However, if there is still a biological parent out there (I'll assume your father) then the child will automatically go to him. In order for you to get the child, he would have to sign over his parental rights to you and your wife.

If your father's current wife has no blood relationship to the child then she has no right to the child. Hope this helps.

 

[JESTER]

My sister is adopted - so "technically" there is no biological relation at all.

 

[tunedin302]

My sister is adopted - so "technically" there is no biological relation at all.

Okay - so is she adopted by both your father and his current wife? If so, then her parental rights would have to be terminated. If she did not adopt her then there is no issue as she has no rights. Hope this helps.

 

[JESTER]

Okay - so is she adopted by both your father and his current wife? If so, then her parental rights would have to be terminated. If she did not adopt her then there is no issue as she has no rights. Hope this helps.

Yeah - it does.
It pretty much confirms what I though. We're just pretty much gonna have to pray that things will go as smoothly as possible for my sister.

Thanks man.

 

[tunedin302]

If you believe her to be in danger then you should definately try to get your sister into a better situation.

 

[JESTER]

If you believe her to be in danger then you should definately try to get your sister into a better situation.

See that's the thing...I don't think she is in any physical danger. What I am fearful of is this.
1. Her not getting the hands on need for her education.
2. Her being in the middle of a hostile (verbal) environment.
3. Her being fed lies and being pulled away from my father.
4. Her being raised with some HUGE character flaws.

To me - these are big issues. However I feel that in a court of law, maybe #1 and possibly #2 would be a "concern" but no action could really be taken. And if we went to court about it and nothing was done, I feel I run the risk of completely loosing contact with her all together.

 

[tunedin302]

The person that needs to do something is your father. He can easily petition the court and possibly get primary custody of your sister. Since both him and his current wife have equal adoptive parental rights of your sister, the court will apply a best interest test to determine where your sister should spend a majority of her time. For instance, if your father can establish that there is a great school right by him that your sister currently attends and it will fit her special needs much better than where her mother is proposing. There are things that can be done but it would be your father that has to do them. For you to do anything would require you asking the court to terminate someone's parental rights ..... courts are relectant to do that.

 

[JESTER]

The person that needs to do something is your father. He can easily petition the court and possibly get primary custody of your sister. Since both him and his current wife have equal adoptive parental rights of your sister, the court will apply a best interest test to determine where your sister should spend a majority of her time. For instance, if your father can establish that there is a great school right by him that your sister currently attends and it will fit her special needs much better than where her mother is proposing. There are things that can be done but it would be your father that has to do them. For you to do anything would require you asking the court to terminate someone's parental rights ..... courts are relectant to do that.

Yeah (what I thought) and that's where the problem lies...my dad is honestly just worn out from the whole situation (hes in his early sixties) and I don't believe he is going to put up much of a fight for anything (which out side of my sister, he stands to loose a L-O-T.

We'll see how things work out...this whole deal is still in VERY early stages...so things can always change.

I GREATLY appreciate your help man.

THANKS