Custody of grandchild

[mzlisaTX]

I need advice on how to proceed. My 16 month old grandson has been living with me for about 5 weeks now. This is the child of my oldest son, who is incarcerated till April of 09. The child mother asked me to keep him till she could get adequate transportation, which she has but has come to see the baby three times in the 5 weeks i've had him. I had to argue with her to take him to the doctor when he became ill and also argued that she needed to pick him up, even if just for the day, to spend time with him. Her response to me was "My life is to busy right now and his father will have custody when he gets out so he should just stay with me till then." This was all sent in a text messages, which i still have. Now i have the medical power of attorney which allows me to seek medical attention for him but shouldnt i have something else? I have no problem raising my grandson till my son is able to do so. The mother has taken to the party life and doesnt seem to want to be bothered raising her kids right now. I just dont want her to be able to disrupt the routine we are getting him accustomed to or just come and take him away when she feels like it. My best interest is the baby. What do i do?

 

[ohiogranny]

You could ask the parents to give you guardianship, but mom could argue that you can already take him to the doctor etc. At least you have that.

How will dad have custody? Are they writing up an agreement and taking it to court? Is he legally the dad? If they were not married, she has legal custody right now. And yes, Mom could come take him any time. You have no rights to the child. We grandparents sometimes have to walk a fine line when the kids are left with us.

I was going to suggest you wait till Dad gets out, but I would consult an attorney to see if you have enough to file for emergency guardianship. Maybe Mom stating to you she wants the child with you would be enough. If you don't get it, and if Mom takes the child, all you can do is try to keep in contact and if anything is seriously amiss, call child services.

If Dad hasn't already done so, he needs to establish paternity, parenting time and child support. If Mom is so uninterested, he should file for custody when he gets out (depending on his offense) if Mom doesn't agree to it.