NC-grandma has 2 boys,filing abandonment-termination of parental rights
I know one of the other members had written responses about this, but I had looked this up last year, and I think in NC after 18 months or something like that, an absent parent CAN lose his (or her) rights, if they can't be located to come forth and fight for their rights. My grandsons are 3 and almost 2, I'm not worried about the baby, my daughter was wise not to put him on the baby's birth certificate, as they were already seperated, and he has never seen him, and has her maiden name. The trouble comes with the oldest, they were married, he was a pothead, but sane, and he became abusive a little at a time (one arrest for hitting Brit and resisting arrest), crazy a little at a time, he has been arrested a few times and committed a few times (no real psychiatric diagnosis-polysubstance abuse and psycosis related to drug abuse) But then he thought he was a prophet, and advanced up through the heavenly ranks to Jesus and then to God himself (finally arrested on his birthday after walking in our cabin and telling us it was his birthday, he could do what he wants, then proceeding to several churches nearby to demand their tithes, because they were his through the Lord Jesus who was his son, and then during a distraction by the congregation the sheriff's were finally able to apprehend him, also finding a large bag of weed in the car). The magistrate told us she had never seen someone act as delusional one moment and straight up normal then violent and threatening from minute to minute. That was it for him. Do I want my grandsons around this? Do they deserve better? Yes. We do not want his money, we want him legally out of his life. He is at the age when you call your kids by their full names when they are being bad, and I refuse to do that. He doesnt deserve to have a child named after him. Maybe later, another child with another woman after he straightens his life out. In NC, what do I do? Go to the courthouse, have me or my daughter file for abandonment? The last address know is the last place they lived together, he used to walk around in the country with his Bible, preaching crazy biblical interpretations, I think he is back to prophet status now, but noone has seen him locally for awhile, but my parents got a phone call from him, probably, from a county jail about 2 hours away, maybe 3 months ago. Wouldnt accept the charges. His parents know where we live; no birthday cards for either #2 or #3, and none for the baby, neither. These boys are beautiful and smart and I want to do what I can for them, with the least amount of drama as possible. And while they are young. Does NC follow through with abandonment of children and can it be done with simple filing at the courthouse, or am I really going to have to exhaust every bit of my tax refund and then some to have tis take care of? If so, I better start kicking up the OT a notch. I just dont want a fight, I want to ease his life and his feel for obligatory responsibilities-but I will fight, and their mother will fight with me; right now she knows whats best for them. Hopefully one day she will be whats best. Any ideas or suggestions? I keep reading different things online, or am re-reading them since tax/money season is coming back around again, and I want to be sure what it is I need to be looking for or to be doing for my boys. :) Thanks for any advice.
