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View Full Version : Can you get custody through the newspaper?


TamaraB
Apr 11, 2008, 08:20 AM
:confused:
My husband is divorced and she had the kids, Then his ex in laws called and asked f we could take them for awhile. Well its been 3 months and we haven't heard from anyone. Could this be considered child abandonment ? And my mother in law thought that we could get custody by publishing a notice in the newspaper , is there any thing to that?
Thanks.

ScottGem
Apr 11, 2008, 08:58 AM
First, this isn't abandonment. Abandonment occurs where a child is left unattended. Second, no, you can't get custody by publishing somehting in a newspaper. What you need to do is petition in the court that set the original custody agreement for a change in custody.

stinawords
Apr 11, 2008, 09:02 AM
Scott's right. Though if you haven't been able to make contact and still aren't able to make contact after going to court the first time a judge may rule that you need to place an "ad" in the papers asking for their response and if they still don't respond then you are likely to get awarded custody. That's probably what your in-laws were thinking of. But you do actually have to go to court you can't just use the paper for custody. Best of luck!