My Niece has passed away, How do I obtain custody of her 2 children?

[Smokymtnladie]

My niece recently passed away suddenly. She was 27 years old.She did not leave a will or anything like that. She and her 9 year old son and her 4 year old son have lived with us for the past 8 years. She and her oldest son moved in when he was 9 months old. She was married to his father but they eventually divorced. She was never married to her youngest son's father nor is his name on the birth certificate. The family is in agreement that I should have custody of him. Because of all the sudden and unexpected expenses, we can't afford the $2000.00 for an attorney at this time.
She had joint custody of her oldest son. The father chose not to be in his life from the time that he was 9 months old until he was about 5 years old. My nephew had no idea who he was. Then he decided he was ready to be a father. He lives in a different state. He would come visit once a month. When he learned that my niece had passed away, he decided that he wanted to be a full time father. He took my nephew to live with him in North Carolina. He is extremely unhappy and wants to come home. We are allowed visitation.
My questions are:
At what age would the court take into consideration what my nephew's wishes are as far as who he wants to live with? I'm afraid if I try to fight for custody of him right now, I wouldn't get it and We will not be allowed to see him.

My second question is:
Can I apply for custody of my youngest nephew without having to use an attorney? It needs to be done as quickly as possible
I would greatly any advice/ information given.
Thank you

 

[Duranie]

The father has rights here, you do not unfortunately. The child does not get to choose who to live with at 9. you will need an attorney to fight aggressively but honestly it does not look good. Sadly though the father does have rights here and if mom passes away, the father generally gets the child. Actually the father is allowing visitation it appears so that is nice of him, since he does not have too. If you file for custody and lose, rest assured dad probably will stop the visits.

You really need a family law attorney. If I were you, keep the relationship with Dad civil. See if he will allow extended visits with the child. Try to be active in the childs life without taking him back to court.