Ask Me Help Desk - Getting custody of my three nieces

Getting custody of my three nieces

I am 22 , I have two of my own children and a stable home and a stable income source. My oldest sister is in the same condition only with 5 of her own children and lives right down the street from me. We live in Idaho. Three months ago our middle sister dropped her three girls off with us by our demand because she has severe drug problems and is extremely neglectful to the girls who are 3, 8 and 9 . She put herself into a 90 day rehab program in Portland OR . Since we have had the girls they have been clean and fed and enrolled into a good school. However , my sister was in the middle of a divorce with her ex addict husband who abandoned her and the children to go live with and date our cousin! In Montana. He had only called to talk to girls 2 times and was not sending child support to our middle sister until the cops went to his work, but now he knows that our sister is in rehab he wants to come and get them. He is an on and off drug user, neglectful and over all nasty person. I am so scared he will show up while our sister is still in rehab and take the girls from us! What can we do?

First, have your sister sign a temporary guardianship over to you. Second, what is the status of the divorce?

She did sign a temporary guardianship to us and I don't think either one had officially turned I divorce papers

Quote:

Originally Posted by ScottGem

First, have your sister sign a temporary guardianship over to you. Second, what is the status of the divorce?

Yes

If there is no custody order in place (in the divorce action), the father has every right to pick up the children, should he want to. So I suggest that you immediately apply to the court in which the divorce is pending (Idaho, I assume) and get an order awarding temporary custody to you.

What AK said

Quote:

Originally Posted by AK lawyer

If there is no custody order in place (in the divorce action), the father has every right to pick up the children, should he want to. So I suggest that you immediately apply to the court in which the divorce is pending (Idaho, I assume) and get an order awarding temporary custody to you.

So I just asked and apparently no one has actually filed for divorce . Can we still apply if both parents are in other states and we are taking care of them? Mother in Oregon and father in Montana. Girls born in Oregon

Since you have temporary guardianship, you can apply where you live.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ScottGem

Since you have temporary guardianship, you can apply where you live.

Thank you so much!

Quote:

Originally Posted by KristaKiki11

So I just asked and apparently no one has actually filed for divorce . Can we still apply if both parents are in other states and we are taking care of them? Mother in Oregon and father in Montana. Girls born in Oregon

Your going to have to be filing against BOTH parents. And if either one of them doesn't agree you will lose. Your real battle may be to show the courts that they are unfit. If you don't then what your trying to do will be a waste of time and money.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ScottGem

Since you have temporary guardianship, you can apply where you live.

I can't agree with this at all. The children haven't been living long enough in that State to have residency. According to the OP they have had the children for 3 months. Also according to the OP the guardianship is in dispute. They will have to file in the Home State of the children.

Its not so clear. We don't know where the mother lived prior to dropping the children off. So we don't know for sure what the home state is.

My gut says to file locally and let the local court either deny jurisdiction or not. But I do agree she has to apply for custody on the grounds that neither parent is fit.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ScottGem

Its not so clear. We don't know where the mother lived prior to dropping the children off. So we don't know for sure what the home state is.
...

No, we don't for sure, but OP's statement that the mother

"lives right down the street from me. We live in idaho. Three months ago our middle sister dropped her three girls off with us "
Strongly suggests that the childrens' home state is Idaho. Mother is in Oregon now, but as of 3 months ago lived down the street in Idaho.

Here is a link to Idaho's Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act. In pertinent part, it provides as follows:

"...
32-11-204. Temporary emergency jurisdiction. (a) A court of this state has temporary emergency jurisdiction if the child is present in this state and the child has been abandoned or it is necessary in an emergency to protect the child because the child, or a sibling or parent of the child, is subjected to or threatened with mistreatment or abuse.
(b) If there is no previous child custody determination that is entitled to be enforced under this chapter and a child custody proceeding has not been commenced in a court of a state having jurisdiction under sections 32-11-201 through 32-11-203, Idaho Code, a child custody determination made under this section remains in effect until an order is obtained from a court of a state having jurisdiction under sections 32-11-201 through 32-11-203, Idaho Code. ...
..."

So, if the children are in Idaho, and until another custody order is entered in another state, it appears that the Idaho court has jurisdiction whether they have been there for six months.

Quote:

Originally Posted by AK lawyer

No, we don't for sure, but OP's statement that the mother

"lives right down the street from me. We live in idaho. Three months ago our middle sister dropped her three girls off with us "
strongly suggests that the childrens' home state is Idaho. Mother is in Oregon now, but as of 3 months ago lived down the street in Idaho.

It's the older sister that lives down the street, it's the middle sister who went to OR for rehab. And the father apparently lives in Montana.

So I'm still going with my gut.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ScottGem

Its the older sister that lives down the street, its the middle sister who went to OR for rehab. And the father apparently lives in Montana.

So I'm still going with my gut.

I think the kissing cousin lives in Montana.

But it doesn't matter. Idaho has jurisdiction to grant emergency custody even if the children have been there for only a second.

Quote:

Originally Posted by AK lawyer

I think the kissing cousin lives in Montana.

But it doesn't matter. Idaho has jurisdiction to grant emergency custody even if the children have been there for only a second.

I don't see the grounds for it. It does not fit the quote you made from the law unless your trying to use abandonment as an excuse in hopes of winning it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by cdad

Your going to have to be filing against BOTH parents. And if either one of them doesnt agree you will lose. Your real battle may be to show the courts that they are unfit. If you dont then what your trying to do will be a waste of time and money.

No, both parents don't have to agree.

Several things could happen should OP ask for custody:

The parents might not respond, in which case they would be defaulted and the judge will have to decide unilaterally whether the court can and should grant the application; or
one or both parents could oppose the application, in which case the court could decide whether or not the best interest of the children nevertheless requires that OP get custody (temporary or otherwise).