My niece's s one year old daughter was place with me by the Dept of Social Services in 2007, for 11 months for safety reasons. We loved her and provided comfort and care for my beautiful niece, but before the year was up, my niece's older sister insisted that she wanted to take her then 2 year old niece to live with her in another state, which we all agreed on because I thought that she would do a great job at raising her since she also had a daughter close at age of my niece. She kept her for 1 1/2 years and moved back to a nearby city to me, and called me and asked if I would take my now 4 year old niece again. I told her that I would not take her again unless I was given some form of legal papers on her so that they could not come and take her from me. She wrote a statement saying that she can not longer provide for the need of her niece and that she is giving me physical custody of her because she know that I will love, provide, and take great care of her.

Both the biological mother whom gave up custody in 2007, and her sister whom took custody in 2008 are living from house to house, smoking marijuana, and won't work..

My question is:
What do I need to do this time to gain full custody of my 4 year old niece so that she don't ever have to experience the feeling of being homeless ever again...

PLEASE SOMEBODY HELP ME!!

First, the paper the sister signed is almost worthless. You need to have a court affirm your guardianship since you, otherwise have no legal standing.

You should start with a filing for temporary guardianship, so you can make legal decisions about her care. Then you can proceed to either adopt or go for full custody. I would suggest engaging an attorney to help you through the legal steps.

Thank You ScottGem! I appreciate your response to my question and I agree that seeking legal representation will be the wise thing to do in this matter. I only want what is best for my niece.
With the papers that my niece signed, I have been able to use it for medical purposes for my 4 year old niece and to enroll her into school as living with me. I will strive forward to hire an attorney(tomorrow) and hope for the best!

Again, Thank You

Lady Dee

You are lucky they are accepting the paperwork. Without court ratification, they are not legally binding. But good luck and tell the child from me, that she is very lucky to have such a caring aunt.

Thank You very much for your advice and especially for your kind words! Good Luck to you also in you life's ventures! I will express your kindness to my niece! She is in here at the moment drawing me several beautiful pictures:)


Have a geat day! :)