Ask Me Help Desk - Grandmother is refusing to give back custody.

Quote:

Originally Posted by lostwohim08

My mother is refusing to give back custody of my son even though I know have my life back on track. I signed him over to her when he was 4 months old because I was into drugs and my choice of boyfriends wasn't great. I have been asking for him back for the last 2 years, yet she keeps coming up with different things that I have to do to prove myself to her. He will be 4 in 13 days by the way. The custody papers that I have don't have any kind of ending date for the custody and it's labeled Grandparents custody, but I am not sure if that means that I have a shot at winning him back or if I don't. Any kind of comments would be great.:(

It appears she has permanent Court ordered legal custody.

The only way to reverse that is to go to Court and ask for custody to be returned to you.

The Court will review your situation, her situation, the child's situation and determine what is in the best interest of the child. The Court may appoint a legal guardian to represent the child in this matter, to review the documents and make a recommendation.

Things such as whether you have paid child support, whether you exercise visitation, whether you can prove you are and have been clean, whether you are able to support the child, whether you have a stable living situation and stable employment will enter into the decision. Your mother's home is apparently pretty much the only home the child has known and I don't believe the Court will just change custody. Perhaps there will be a gradual lead in involving weekend visitation, vacations, something like that.

Your mother is correct - at this point she has legal custody and is under no obligation to do anything not ordered by the Court (including turning custody over to you).