I have a questions, recently a friend died of breast cancer and left behind a 3 year old. She left a document that she wanted her mother, the child's grandmother to raise the child. The dad, although absent from the child life, has now stated that he wants custody of the child. The dad is better off financially than the grandmother - the boys parents were never married, but were together for about 15 yrs. And lived in Florida. They are saying the dad never wanted to child before now, and had denied him. The dad is taking the grandmother to court to gain custody. Does anyone know of any other cases as such. Will the grandmother lose the child because he is the biological father?

Yes. An assignment of guardianship to a non parent when a parent exists and is not unfit, will almost always be voided.

But is he the biological father? Were DNA tests performed to secure that? Why did he denied the child?
If he can prove in court that he is the biological father he stands a chance to get custody.

:)

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Originally Posted by Credendovidis

If he can prove in court that he is the biological father he stands a chance to get custody.

:)

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More than a chance. Almost a slam dunk.

OK so even though the dad never really wanted anything to do with the child, and the mother was adament about him not taking custody and wanting her mom, the grandmother, to take him, and has a legal document stating such, the dad can still take him - even though he wanted nothing to do with him and hasn't been a part of his life for 3 years? Do you feel the grandmother would have any chance of keeping custody?

Yes, he is the biological father and we were told that at the time of his birth, the father did not want a child, so he therefore denied him and became absent - and did not partake in anything. The mom never took him to court for child support because she did not want anything to do with him, but he nid not offer to support the child either.

The problem is the document is not legal, because the law doesn't allow it. I was surprised to find this out as well, but such an assignment of guardianship will not stand up to a challenge by a biological parent. For whatever reason he has a change of heart, he's the child's closest relative and his claim will take precendence.

This doesn't mean the grandmother should just give up. She should definitely consult an attorney to see if there is anything she can do. There may be local laws that might help her. But the odds are stacked against her.

As already pointed out the document stating the mother wanted the grandmother to have custody is just that a want it isn't a legal document. The grandmother should get a lawyer if she wants to fight it but she dosen't have much of a leg to stand on and with out a lawyer the father is almost guaranteed to win because he has yet to be proven unfit (that is very hard to do).