custody of niece

panda182

New Member
I have a 13 year old niece that lives in texas with her mom and dad. She recently contacted me because she is very unhappy in texas to where she is having suicidal thoughts. Her dad has abused her mom( which is my sister) and is verbally abusive. I am scared that there is more going on than what i know. My niece cant really talk over the phone because her parents are always around and im just scared that she will take her life because her parents dont understand her and will just yell at her if she were to tell them the truth. Is there any way that i can go to court and get custody of her? I live in california so i would figure that i would have to go to texas too get answers too. Please direct me in the right direction so i can help my niece. Im very worried for her safety.
 
Ok lets get you the help you need. Custody is a long process and time is not your friend if this is even partially true. First thing that needs to happen is for Children s' Services to be notified so they may investigate. You can do that anonymously. If there are concerns the child can possibly be removed even then it will likely only be temporary so custody again not in cards. Unless there are some pretty strong problems your gaining custody is unlikely. If the child is suicidal she needs more than you can provide. You can talk to a Lawyer but again your gaining custody (if parents are against it) is not likely. Contact children's services let them investigate and help child that way. In mean time you could visit forum linked in my signature line for nonlegal advice from parents who may have had similar situations and find out how they dealt with them. It not a spam post as the site below in hosted by this site
 
If you are that concerned for the child, the first thing you need to do is to contact Child Protective Services. Getting custody would require a lawyer & have to be done through the court system. (if it can be done)
 
I don't understand why you wouldn't mention this to your sister. Even if you don't like dad, surely you can tell her mother. If you can't/won't, contact her school and let the guidance counselor know. Getting custody out of state for a teenager who isn't happy at home is not going to happen. 99.9% of teenagers at some point are sure the grass is greener someplace else. An unstable child is not going to be uprooted from her parents and shipped off to another state.
 
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