I left my son with his aunt and uncle for 3 weeks, while I got on my feet. I got ahold of them everyday till a week ago when my phone broke. Now they are saying I abandonen my son and is taking me for custody. Does anyone know what the child abandoment law is in Pa

Are you back on your feet?
Are you able to get your son back now?
If so you need to go to the police and/or CYF and tell them they have your son and won't give him back. They can not hold your son like that without a court saying that they should have them. Like they would have to get an emergency thing from the court saying they should have them. They can say that you abandoned him but if you can take him home with you now you need to get the police and go get him. As much as you supposedly ''abandoned'' him you could claim they ''kidnapped'' him because he is there beyond the time that you said you wanted him back.
They have to give him back AND THEN they can take you to court for neglect, unfit or whatever they want to claim. Not that they would win but they are free to do that.

I would go to the police first because once you get involved with CYF it can be a nightmare.

I went to get my son yesterday and they wouldn't give him to me. I called the police but they said that they wasn't getting in a custody battle. I don't know what to do.

Why are they not giving you back your son, and what are they telling you to justify trying to get custody of him.

I think you will most probably have to seek legal advise on this one, and maybe get in touch with Child Protective Services.

Considering how serious this is, they must have some reason to hold onto your son.

Is there more you can share?

My son is 19 months old, his dad died when he was 3 months and 3 days old. He is with his dads brother and aunt, they were just watching him till I got a house and that was suppose to be all.. They are saying that I have abandonin him since I wasn't able to come see him cause I don't have a car. I was Txt them everyday till my phone broke then I went to myspace to write his Aunt Alissa a message telling her that my phone was broke and that I would be getting my son back within the week. Well her Husband wrote me saying that he forgot to tell Alissa about the message and how well my son was doing, and ending it with There's no rush on picking him up, just get on your feet.. Then two days later Alissa wrote me and said they were going for custody, which was Friday and that court was on that coming Tuesday. So I have one day to get a lawyer before court.

That's outrageous. They can't do that.

However, how can you have computer access but cannot find a phone anywhere from which to call them?

I think you need to: find a lawyer, make SURE you appear for any court date, make sure you know about any court date (call the court house if necessary), write them a letter stating that you want your son back immediately, and have the letter served to them. Borrow the money to do this if necessary. STay in contact with them.

Go see Alissa and try to talk to her about what happened. Say you are SORRY you've been out of contact. Don't blame her or her husband. I think she's mad at you.

Yes, go see the police supervisor, this is kidnaping, not a custody issue

First, please pay more attention to posting guidelines. There is a Read first sticky at the top pf the children forum (where this was moved from) that refers questons of a legal nature to this forum.

Second, the police were wrong in this case. There is no custody battle since you have custody. Until they file in court for custdy. Have they actually done so?

Child abandonment is leaving a child unsupervised. You didn't do that. One week of no contact is not abandonemtn, though you should have used any phone to call them.

I would go to the police and tell them that this is your son and you asked his aunt and uncle to watch him for a few weeks while you got things together, but now they are illegally keeping him from you since they have no rights in this case.

If the police still won't help, then you need to get a court order ordering them to surrunder the child.

I agree with Scott in principle, but I have some practical questions.

How does a person go about proving they are a child's mother? In most cases, people don't have a photo ID of a baby. If you are the mother, there are no custody papers. You can show them a birth certificate, but how do they know the child you are claiming is the one named? I can see why the police may be reluctant to help.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by asking

How does a person go about proving they are a child's mother? In most cases, people don't have a photo ID of a baby. If you are the mother, there are no custody papers. You can show them a birth certificate, but how do they know the child you are claiming is the one named? I can see why the police may be reluctant to help.

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You show the police a birth certificate and ID. If the aunt and uncle deny that she is the mother they are committing a crime. If they admit she is the mother, then they have to produce evidence of custody or guardianship.

Okay. I think that will help the OP and the police.