My husbands mother has my 4 year old daughter and we are in seperate states so they won't give her to me, I can't afford a lawyer and my daughter is screaming because she wants to live with me. How would I handle this situation?
2006-09-08 11:28:59 · 11 answers · asked by Sidney C 2 in Family & Relationships ➔ Marriage & Divorce
If she is at your mother-in-law's house without your husband being there you can just go get her if there is no custody order. If MIL refuses to give her to you, call the police.
2006-09-08 11:36:51 · answer #1 · answered by NickyO 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Lets see if I can help here. You dont say whether youre going thru a divorce or not, but if you are then; first dont sign any papers on anything concerning the divorce and let your husbands atty do all the paperwork, saves you money and at this point you dont really need an atty yet. You are going to contest what he wants concerning custody so you will have somehow show up in divorce court. Now if they dont have drug or child abuse charges on you, the courts award custody to the mothers unless proven unfit. Your mother in law having her is only temporary til the court date. If you can afford it, you may want to hire a paralegal which is a whole lot cheaper, legal and the paralegals do all the attys paperwork anyhow. You can find them thru the yellow pages or if you live near a university with a law dept or could even contact your states legal aid assoc. Document everything you hear and see concerning your daughter and her living conditions for court purposes. Good luck
2006-09-08 18:47:21 · answer #2 · answered by Arthur W 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Have you ever heard of legal aid? Theres one in every state. All you need to do is go to the local Department of human services and get the number and they will help you with an attorney pro bono, free.
As for them keeping her from you, they cant. All you have to do is go to where they live and take an officer with you and tell them you want your daughter. They have no legal right to keep her from you or you from her. They are only grandparents.
You as the birth mother are entitled to your child unless the law says that you are unfit. Until you and the childs father go to court and they decide who she lives with, you or the father have to have custody of her.
You have to find a way to get the financing to go get her and make sure that you have birth certificate and any other id to prove she is yours.
Now if the father had custody for some reason and you left, thats called abandonment. You will need to get with an attorney and go from there. But in the state that you live in the laws may be different. In texas, both parents are entitled to the child until the courts decide who that child should live with.
Go Get your daughter and do it fast. The longer you wait the worse it will be. But be sure to take the officer with you so that the grandparents cant keep you from retrieving her. As the parent you have the right to have her with you. Just dont give the grandparents or anyone that you dont trust the information that you are going to get her. That way they cant keep you from her by saying you abandoned her with them.
Good Luck!!!
2006-09-08 19:00:00 · answer #3 · answered by cowgirlduchess 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you have papers stating that you have custody. Then you go and get your child. There is nothing they can do about it. The next question is are you a fit mom. Not to sound mean but if you are an unfit mom then you probably will not get custody. If you are a fit mom then you shouldn't have anything to worry about because normally the moms always get custody.
2006-09-08 18:52:15 · answer #4 · answered by jeter2 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Unless they have custody papers from court they have no right to her go in her house and grab her you dont need a lawyer and if they wont let you have her get the cops involved and it dont matter how long they had her unless your rights been takin away you have rights to your little girl
2006-09-08 18:57:56 · answer #5 · answered by black lady 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Get a lawyer anyway with the action that he is to pay your lawyer fee's. When it comes time for the first hearing, your lawyer will ask that all your fee's are to be paid by the ex.. Whomever ask first is usually granted... So when picking out a lawyer get one that is an ***hole! He will do a world of good to your case..
2006-09-08 18:37:56 · answer #6 · answered by ~ 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
hi sidney, does mother-in-law have legal custody of your daughter. if not then she can do nothing 2 keep her from u. if she has custody u still have the option of goung 2 legal-aid 4 help getting her back.
2006-09-08 18:41:57 · answer #7 · answered by virgo1 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you have custody you need to contact the police. If you don't have custody contact the court that gave her custody and file the documents yourself. Its not that hard.
2006-09-08 18:31:38 · answer #8 · answered by middle aged and love it 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
yuk that's scary
i had it happen to me. you need to get legal aid and file for custody go to the state she is in and take it to the police department and have them follow the custody order
2006-09-08 18:32:31 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
what country are you in. If you're in Australia, i may be able to help
2006-09-08 18:47:21 · answer #10 · answered by jackfm2006 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋