jurisdiction

[catfishcally7]

I desperately am seeking help in this matter. I have a five year old nephew who is currently in foster care until his mother meets her requirements to get him home. I have hired two lawers and spent lots of money trying to get some kind of visits with him. We are very close. I am told by the judge that because the parents never married I have no jurisdiction to petition the courts for visitation or contact with the child. There fore he will not even here my case. He is quoated as saying i'm "wasting his time". The first hearing I had the recomendation from the gal but the judge overruled him. I am willing to go to all costs, weather it be money or changing laws. I have done hours of searching and can not find a case like this. His father was charged in a separate case for child porno so he isn't much of a help to me.
Have you heard of anything like this? and does anyone have any helpful ideas on where to start?
Do I have no rights as a blood relative who has been very much involved with his upbringing as his parents?

 

[Michael Wechsler]

Why can't you petition the court in the name of the mother? Haven't the attorneys raised alternatives to suit being brought in the mother's name?

 

[catfishcally7]

That would be problem number two. She left him home alone at night while she was working and he told me and unfortuately I turned her in, thus social services getting involved. This is her paybacks to me, she doen't want him to have anycontact with me.
As for his father, opposite story, he would rather have him living with us. but he is on probation for sexual assult of a minor. social services will barely even tell him where his child is let alone listen to his input. might I add that this is a small town that we are dealing with so no one will step on any toes around town.

 

[Michael Wechsler]

To begin, the term is a lack of "standing" and not jurisdiction with regard to your attempting to bring suit. A party must have "standing" in order to bring suit which means that they are the party that has the right to file suit. If your neighbor has a contract dispute, you cannot sue for your neighbor since you aren't a party to the contract and only your neighbor is.

Additionally, it sounds as though your blood relationship isn't established -- are you a relative of the father?

What did your attorneys state with regard to the judge's ruling?

 

[jharris352]

Unfortunately for you the Judge is right

As a blood relative you have absolutely no right to visit a child without the parent's permission. Even though the Mother has lost physical custody she still has legal rights to the child and if she does not want you to visit the child you can not visit the child. In my opinion you were pretty rash to get CPS involved without first going to the Mother and trying to talk some sense into her.

Michael is correct, you are talking about "standing" not jurisdiction.

There is one ray of hope for you. Federal laws and the state laws that mirror them, require "reasonable efforts" to prevent the child from being in foster care by attempting to place him/her with a blood relative. States are required to make a diligent search for blood relatives who can take the child out of foster care. This would require that you take temporary custody of the child. It may seem odd to you that you can petition for custody and not visitation but you can.

Michael has a valid question though. Has your blood relationship to the child ever been adjudicated? In other words, did your brother ever prove his paternity? From the Judge's reaction he must not have legitimated the child and therefore he may not have proved paternity either. In that case you don't have legal standing as a blood relative YET.

You should be able to petition for temporary custody of the child by claiming to be a blood relative. You will have to prove that with a DNA test if your brother didn't prove his paternity before. Good luck.

NEVER EVER EVER involve CPS unless a child is truly being deprived and it is a last resort.