My boyfriend and his little brother are currently living with their grandparents, and have been for quite some time initially due to their mother's inability to care for them. They did not go to court to completely switch custody, but the grandparents are their legal guardians. (His mother still has parental rights then, right?) My boyfriend isn't treated well and his mother wishes to regain custody in order for him to live a better life. The mother has a past of drug use, and still has a bit of straightening up to do. Is this possible? How would they go about it?

Thank you!

First if they did not go to court, then there is NO legal guardianship, to be a legal guardian it had to be appointed by the courts.

He needs to find out what the exact legal custody arrangements by the courts are,

his mother wishes to regain custody in order for him to live a better life. The mother has a past of drug use, and still has a bit of straightening up to do.

If the courts are involved, they will need to take into consideration all aspects of the situation. Him having a better life, in his opinion, with a mother who is not straightened up may not be what the courts would consider to be best.

Without knowing the specifics, I can only guess that the grandparents might be stricter with him, because they do not want to make the same mistakes they did with his mother.

Of course the other side of that could be that they are doing the same thing that led the mother into drug use, so as an outsider, there is really no way to know.

17 is not far from 18, and the legal process might take longer than his next birthday anyway.