Guardianship in Indiana

My niece has told me that the paternity test, done 2/2026, will not be back for a year due to them being "backed up". How am I to proceed? She has asked me through texting to take care of her son via custody/guardianship.

Aunt Fluffy said:

How am I to proceed?

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Absent any legal documents or court orders, it would be in YOUR BEST INTERESTS (as well as the child's and mother's BEST INTERESTS to do NOTHING, until the mother has retained the services of a licensed family law attorney to make sure (YOU, THE CHILD, and THE MOTHER to do NOTHING) until you possess valid court order(s) INDICATING you have been granted temporary legal custody of the child.

By the way, the child might end up being unrelated to the male, who might believe he is the baby's daddy.

A text perporting child custody is ridiculous, ludicrous, and fails to protect the best interests of all involved parties.

Again, do nothing until the mother has been diligent in the process of obtaining the necessary court order(s) required to ensure all are operating on the same page, in the same book!

As Maury Povich said many, many times:

In Indiana, how would I proceed with obtaining permanent custody of my great nephew? DCS is not currently involved with the child.

Aunt Fluffy said:

In Indiana, how would I proceed with obtaining permanent custody of my great nephew?

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You should seek the services of an Indiana licensed "family law attorney" that you've vetted and believe she/he is capable of assisting you in obtaining custody of the child.

Aunt Fluffy said:

In Indiana, how would I proceed with obtaining permanent custody of my great nephew? DCS is not currently involved with the child.

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You would need the permission of both parents. Ideally an attorney's assistance would be the best way to handle it.
How old is the child? Is the presumed father in the picture? If so, does he agree to this guardianship? Is he paying child support? Is mom going to be paying you support? Is there a court ordered custody/visitation order in place?

The child will be 1 next month. The rest of the questions are no. The mom told me it will take up to a year to get the results of the paternity test due to them being backed up, the test was done in February 2026.

Aunt Fluffy said:

She has asked me through texting to take care of her son via custody/guardianship.

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For that you will need court approval.

Otherwise, you'll be a babysitter and the mother can give you written authorization to take care of the child without giving up any parental rights.

If you want guardianship over your niece's son, then you should retain the services of a local attorney to petition the court to set up a guardianship.