My cousin who has sole custody of his two year old and seven year old daughters asked me if I could keep them because he can no longer care for them. (their bio mom says she can not either) He said he would help me financially with them but in the almost three months since he signed guardianship papers he has not seen them once and sent me $100 with another family mandember. He was evicted and number is no longer in service he has not answered my text messages in over a month. We live in Brazoria County in Texas. When would it be considered abandonment? He is busy partying. I worry that he might want to come pick them up when he moves another girl in (which is what he always does) and being them back when they split up. The only stable home they have ever known is with my family. The two year old has called us mommy and daddy from the start and doesn't ever want to be with him.

WOW that is messed up & plus she call u as if u were her parent but according to law they is not your as messed up as it sound I can't say no more... sorry

It is not considered abandonment at all. Abandonment is a criminal charge imposed when children are left without adult supervision.

What you need to do is define what you want to do here. Do you want to adopt the children? Or do you just want to prevent the parents from regaining custody? Or what? Was the guardianship ratified by a court? If you can advise what it is you want, we can suggest your next steps.

TX family code ann. 161.001 abandonment or extreme parental disinterest- voluntarily left with non parent without expressing intent to return and failed to provide adequate support for 3 months. Paraphrased but that is the core of it. Get a lawyer and save those babies.

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Originally Posted by persnickety

TX family code ann. 161.001 abandonment or extreme parental disinterest- voluntarily left with non parent without expressing intent to return and failed to provide adequate support for 3 months. paraphrased but that is the core of it. get a lawyer and save those babies.

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If he signed guardianship papers which were accepted by a court, then it's not abandonment. He voluntarily signed his rights over to the OP.

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Originally Posted by persnickety

TX family code ann. 161.001 abandonment or extreme parental disinterest- voluntarily left with non parent without expressing intent to return and failed to provide adequate support for 3 months. paraphrased but that is the core of it. get a lawyer and save those babies.

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Thanks for citing the code section, but being able to cite the code and understanding its application are different things. The section you cited provide reason that a court MAY grant a termination of rights. It does not mean they have to. Also, since the parent conferred guardianship over to the OP there was no abandonment.

Thanks for trying to help, but be more careful next time that you apply the law correctly.

I understand they don't have to terminate based on this. I've been through family court in TX. I took this section of code printed out to my lawyer with all of my documentation and he got me custodey of my grandchildren. My advice to them was to get a lawyer. I had the guardienship papers. Family court is scary. Don't try it on your own. Your lawyer will be worth every penny and there is still no guarantee. All that code does is give you a starting point.

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Originally Posted by persnicketys

I understand they don't have to terminate based on this. I've been thru family court in TX. I took this section of code printed out to my lawyer with all of my documentation and he got me custodey of my grandchildren. My advice to them was to get a lawyer. I had the guardienship papers. Family court is scary. Don't try it on your own. Your lawyer will be worth every penny and there is still no guarantee. All that code does is give you a starting point.

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I don't know what your exact situation was but I don't know how well it mirrored the OP's. You need to be careful about giving general advice over one situation.

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Originally Posted by persnicketys

I understand they don't have to terminate based on this. I've been thru family court in TX. I took this section of code printed out to my lawyer with all of my documentation and he got me custodey of my grandchildren. My advice to them was to get a lawyer. I had the guardienship papers. Family court is scary. Don't try it on your own. Your lawyer will be worth every penny and there is still no guarantee. All that code does is give you a starting point.

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I'm glad things worked out in the best interests of your grandchildren. However, as Scott pointed out, your case may not mirror the OP's case. There could be a lot of varying factors which may or may not be the same things which helped you win your case.

The code is written as a general law. However, when it comes to family law, judges often rule opposite of the law because the law contradicts what is in the best interests of the children. Take for example(and I am grossly paraphrasing) the law in Wisconsin that the person who is/was the primary caregiver for the child(ren) prior to a divorce should be the primary custodial parent. This law is often overruled by any number of things: that parent's lifestyle, drug/alcohol abuse, verbal/sexual/physical abuse in the home, etc. Just because it's the law doesn't mean that's the way it absolutely will play out.0

I do hope you stick around the site. Please be more careful when posting in the law forums, as on this particular forum our answer must be accurate according to the law. I learned the hard way when I first joined also - big misunderstanding because my state refers to physical custody as "placement" and legal custody as "custody." I used the wrong term, got quite an earful from a few other members... but ultimately, I have become friends with all of them and we tend to ask one another for advice on a regular basis.