Getting Custody from my "mother"

[tygrwlf]

It's a rather strange situation. Many years ago when I was young and dumb, my maternal mother hired a lawyer, talked my son's father into signing his custody over to her and his mother, and took my son away from me. Now here's the part I'm unsure of: legally speaking she is my sister. My grandparents had adopted me when I was a baby (so legally they were my parents). She didn't mention that to the lawyer/etc when she got custody of my son and at the time I was so upset that I really didn't even think about it. My son had been happy there though, and until he expressed an interest in living with me I didn't pursue trying to get him back. He is now almost 14 years old, and wishes to live with me/my husband/his siblings. His father is totally out of the picture (lives in another state, doesn't bother to visit/call/anything), and the grandmother on his father's side passed away last year. Which leaves only my mother with custody. We have two other children, and desperately want my eldest to live with us as well, but we don't exactly have the cash to hire a lawyer ourselves to get custody. Is there a way to do this without involving a lawyer, and if so, how should we go about accomplishing it? Any help is greatly appreciated. Thank You

Btw, not sure if it matters, but we live in NC currently.

 

[wendy]

In the state and county where your mother obtained custody, you will need to make a motion to the courts for custody. I would recommend getting an attorney, unless your mother is agreeable to the change. It could get complicated if she fights it. Your son wanting to live with you may carry some weight, but may not be the deciding factor. The internet is a fabulous tool, use it to research your state and county laws. There are also different organizations that prepare court documents for a lessor fee than an attorney, but they may not give legal advice and do not represent you in court.

I am not an attorney.

 

[tygrwlf]

She was willing when we had discussed it. My son's been acting up a lot at her house, so we had all sat down to talk with him. By all I mean my mother, his aunt, myself, and him. He told us how he felt, that he wanted to live with me. At the time there was about 2 months left of school, so we suggested he stay there for now, finish his school year (because moving in with me then would have meant switching schools) and then move in with me after school was over for the year. He agreed to that, my mother agreed to that as well. Now however, she claims she never said he could move in with us, and that he's only staying with us "for the summer".

If he goes back there I know he's just going to start misbehaving again, because the entire reason he was acting out was because he doesn't want to be there. He admitted that to all of us when we sat him down for the talk. I don't know what steps I need to take; as I said previously we can't really afford to get a lawyer currently, but I don't want to leave him in that house/that situation because he will end up messing up his school record just because he's unhappy staying with her.

 

[wendy]

If you can't afford an attorney, that what I would recommend is to do your research. Get online and research the laws for your state/county. In my state/county it is called "Domestic Relations Division" of the common pleas court. I was also able to find literature as to what to prove for a change of custody motion. With you being the one to bring the motion, you are the one that has to PROVE that your son is better off living with you. Keep a log of his behaviors. And do your research! Good luck!

 

[tygrwlf]

Thanks a ton I'll try to keep ya updated, lol.

 

[wendy]

Please do.