I don't even know where to start.
My sister has a long history of theft and lying, she is a clinically diagnosed sociopath. She has 3 children - age 17, age 7 and a fully handicapped 12 year old. The 17 year old has chosen to live with our mother. The two younger children have lived with my sister and her husband. I have chosen not to have any relationship with my sister for many years, but am very close to her children. She had a brain hemoraghe about 4 years ago and was in the hospital for months, and I took care of her children during that time. We are very comfortable and close with each other.
My sister and her husband have never wanted to actually work for a living, so they began scamming people for a living selling autographed items on Ebay. They were caught and recently sentenced - he for 3.5 years, and my sister for 5 years.
My parents are disabled and could not handle raising the children. Currently, I am living in Virginia and make a very good living. With my mother's help (she would have to move here), taking in the children would be pretty painless. The rest of my family, including these children, live in Louisiana. However, some other people have offered to take the children. The husband has another child with another woman, who has offered to take the 7 year old and raise her with the half-sister. (Keep in mind my neice does not know these people, only the daughter). A random cousin of ours has also offered to take in the handicapped nephew - but this is a woman who "collects" handicapped kids as fosters and adoptees as a way of life, it is how she makes her living. Her boyfriend is also involved with drugs and there have been incidents of domestic violence. Lousiana is NOT a good place to live and I feel like having my neice and nephew stay there is sentencing them to a lifetime of poverty and neglect.
By all accounts, my home makes the most "sense" and my sister is leaning toward that. However, my sister has never in her life made the right decision regarding her kids so I am having to look forward at worst case scenarios.
So my questions are: do I have any rights? Does anyone in our family have any rights? If we do not want the children to go to where my sister selects, can we fight that at all?
Also, what sort of things do we have to do to make sure *whoever* gets custody has guardianship over the children? They seem to think it just takes a notarized statement, I think it has to be more official.
Thank you.
My sister has a long history of theft and lying, she is a clinically diagnosed sociopath. She has 3 children - age 17, age 7 and a fully handicapped 12 year old. The 17 year old has chosen to live with our mother. The two younger children have lived with my sister and her husband. I have chosen not to have any relationship with my sister for many years, but am very close to her children. She had a brain hemoraghe about 4 years ago and was in the hospital for months, and I took care of her children during that time. We are very comfortable and close with each other.
My sister and her husband have never wanted to actually work for a living, so they began scamming people for a living selling autographed items on Ebay. They were caught and recently sentenced - he for 3.5 years, and my sister for 5 years.
My parents are disabled and could not handle raising the children. Currently, I am living in Virginia and make a very good living. With my mother's help (she would have to move here), taking in the children would be pretty painless. The rest of my family, including these children, live in Louisiana. However, some other people have offered to take the children. The husband has another child with another woman, who has offered to take the 7 year old and raise her with the half-sister. (Keep in mind my neice does not know these people, only the daughter). A random cousin of ours has also offered to take in the handicapped nephew - but this is a woman who "collects" handicapped kids as fosters and adoptees as a way of life, it is how she makes her living. Her boyfriend is also involved with drugs and there have been incidents of domestic violence. Lousiana is NOT a good place to live and I feel like having my neice and nephew stay there is sentencing them to a lifetime of poverty and neglect.
By all accounts, my home makes the most "sense" and my sister is leaning toward that. However, my sister has never in her life made the right decision regarding her kids so I am having to look forward at worst case scenarios.
So my questions are: do I have any rights? Does anyone in our family have any rights? If we do not want the children to go to where my sister selects, can we fight that at all?
Also, what sort of things do we have to do to make sure *whoever* gets custody has guardianship over the children? They seem to think it just takes a notarized statement, I think it has to be more official.
Thank you.
