Hi my Aunt that I never had met took my daughter 6 years ago, she is now almost 12 I was wondering is there any time in her life she will be able to decide she wants to come home, and be able to? She is so not happy where she's at, she never has been, but she's a good child so she makes the best of it.:(

Why did she "take" your daughter?

Obviously the courts must have given her custody, why?

If you are capable of being a parent again, hire an attorney and petition the court to get custody of your child back now.

I agree with the good Captain here. There is more to the story than you are telling. To get accurate advice you need to give more information.

Ok, me my mom and y two daughters went to California, we live in Georgia, anyway we decided to leave. Well my mom decided she wanted to come back we only had the money to send her and the girls back at that time so I was going to come back after I made enough to come home. Well apparently when my mom got back she didn't care to take care of my children until I got back so she gave my oldest Cristie to my Aunt (which I did not know) and she gave my younger one (Steanna) to her father, I have never seen her again. But when I got back my Aunt had a piece of paper which stated she had taken temporary custody from claim of deprevation, my child had never been deprived of anything. She met my child at my mothers when she was 3 and apparently decided then that she wanted her. My grandfather helped her with the finances he has plenty and they grew up with her lawyer,my lawyer (because I got one from their area, not realizing), and the judge. I didn't have a prayer. I never was not capable of being a good parent. I love my kids and want them more than anything, unlike a lot of parents. I never would have dreamed ANYONE could have taken my daughter she doesn't even have a father on her birth cetificate. We all live in Georgia, me in Augusta her in Soperton, Help please, I miss her badly.

Well, you are home now. You should get a new attorney and petition the court for custody. The Aunt was only given temporary custody, so it should not be too hard.

You will have to prove that you are a fit mother though, because she will probably try and use the excuse that you abandoned them.

But I think you should have a good chance at getting her back.

Thank you for your answer but we have already went to court and done that like I said she grew up with mine and her attorney and the judge. That's why I didn't have a prayer. I would have to be seen by a judge that doen't know her, (my aunt). There was no way to claim abandonment, number one I didn't even know she had my daughter until I got back to town and I immediately started proceedings. Need other advice, thank you.

The only reason I suggested abandonment is that your mother took her back to GA and you stayed in CA for a length of time.

I am not sure what you mean when you say "she grew up with mine and her attorney and the judge."

My aunt is childhood friend with both attorneys and the judge. So is my grandfather. Am I that hard to understand? Maybe read a little closer before answering.

I totally agree with you.

I can't seem to understand that your mother didn't even have the decency to let you know what's her arrangement with the children. In fact you have full custody no matter what the situation is unless you are mentally ill and yet the Child Services usually intervene those circumstances. I'm sure I can understand the situation that you had to send them with your mother back to GA but was there any arrangement made between you and her? I mean she could also be struggling both financially and emotionally while back in GA. Also your aunt can't claim your daughter. Perhaps the judge was able to give her custody because of your mother's mental/financial stability. I'm not saying that she's incapable of both but she probably refused to take responsibility instead given that you are not in present she handed that responsibility to an immediate relative. Which is how she got the temporary custody. I'm sure you can get an attorney and file the case outside your county or back in CA. The only instances you can get the case file in a different district court/federal courts is when there is a reason to believe that the case has violated the civil rights. I'm not sure if I'm correct but you can inquire people with expertise in Law.

There's a lot of questions to be answered here. First, why is your daughter with your aunt and not you? A lot will hinge on the reason for that. Secondly, has she made her wishes known? As she gets older the courts will give her opinions more latitude. However, she's already been with your aunt for 6 years. Although the wishes of the child carry some weight, especially once they reach their teens, the courts recognize stability as being important also, so there's going to have to be a very compelling reason for them to uproot her from her home of 6 years. Talk to a family lawyer for advice on how to proceed.