She wants her back?

Question

my sister has just came back from Chicago, when she lied and told me she was just going to be gone for the weekend and left my neice with me for 7 months with me. I didnt want keep her with me but as i kept keeping her she eventually grown on me, we have fun i take her to the movies, we dine out, and i buy her 2 new outfits every 2 weeks when i get my check. Now i have no kids, a boyfriend for 6 months and my house is going to be empty because my sister decides she wants to come back into her life and get her i mean she's already been through enough being moved from school to school every 2-4 months and now when she's stable my sister wants to come back what should i do i am desperate for help

Answer 1

Honey you only have one option. If you want to retain custody of your niece you with have to go through the court system to get it.

This is a far less scary process that you may think it is. The first step is to contact the family court office in your county. Because your niece has lived with you for more then 6 months she is technically a resident of your county.

Request a custody petition from the clerk of Family Court. You can probably complete it on your own. It's not very complicated, mostly just information on the child and on why it would be in the child's best interest to stay with you.

You can site abandonment as your basis for seeking custody because your sister did abandon her child for seven months leaving you to care for her emotionally, physically, and financially. You can also site the reasons you stated in this post, unstable home enviroment and having to move around alot.

Submit the petition back to the court clerk and they will give you your court date and time. The judge will read your petition and will ask you questions and will make a temporary decision. He will then allow you to either hire an attorney or apply for a court appointed attorney.

After that if you and your sister can agree on custody terms, then it is done and over with. Otherwise, it may go to trial, which your lawyer can talk you through.

If you truly do not think it is in her best interest to be back with her mother, then I would file for custody of your niece as soon as possible.

Best of luck to you. If you have additional questions then contact your local domestic violence agency. They can often assist you through the process and write your petition for you. If they can not, then they will know who can.

Answer 2

first of all let me tell you that i am very sorry because i know how close you must have grown to her. it's like she taking your own child away. but in reality -by law she it not. What you should do the next time if it ever happens again, have witnesses of your sister's neglect or any other behavior worthy of CPS attention and tell your sister that if she wants you to keep her then she must give you full custody at least until she fully turns her life around. I would hate to think that i don't have a second chance to get my baby back. Yet I accept the fact that I can't keep running in and out of my child's life like that. I have a friend who had to relenquish his neice after two years and is now thinking about legally adopting her-it's definitely a BIG commitment. If your sister is on drugs or something like that then you definitely should consider yours and especially the baby's options and courageously make a move to better that poor childs life. I think you should go for it for now. The odds are your sister only wants the baby back mostly for financial benefits such as food stamps, WIC, and maybe child support or something like that. It sounds like you are the one for that baby. Let your heart lead you and forgive me for hurting your feelings by what I said about your sister...I know you love her but hate what she is doing to your neice. Good Luck!

Answer 3

Ok did you tell her that? I mean it might be something for her to think about. Having a kid in one place would be the best for most kids, moving place to place, new school to new school, dosn't fit most kids lifestyles. They would most likely like staying in one place then alot of other places. every once in a while would be cool, so that they'd have some sort of experiance with leaving home. Your doing such a great job being a great ant to her, and a great sister to getting attached to her kid. problem is, it's her kid. meaning that to obtain her kid, you'll have to have evidence that she's a bad mom, and is unstabled to keeping a kid, or if her kid is old enough to live to whom she wants to, like you, her dad, I think that's like 16 or something like that. Soooo you gotta think about this leagally.

Answer 4

If your sister has provide an unstable life for your niece I would call child protective agency and let them know you situation they should be able to help you.

GOOD LUCK

Answer 5

Go to child protective services and sue for custody on grounds of abandonment.