[sheilad]

my 11 yr old granddaughter was placed with me by cps. Her moms boyfriend hit her. She does not want to see her mom.her mom can see her any time with supervision are call her. She has been with me about !# months now and her mom hasn't called are seen her for about ^ months now is this considered abandment?

[cdad]

O because you have legal custody through guardianship of the child. What did CPS tell you when you got the child? Have you asked for support?

[ScottGem]

Abandonment is a very misused and misunderstood term when pertaining to Family Law. There is a sticky note at the top of this forum that deals with this issue. Abandonment is only a means to an end. So what is the end you are looking for?

Please use the Answer This Question options to post follow-up.

[sheilad]

Cps had my daughter sign a paper which read just like a power of attorney saying that she could stay with me but, when I read the rest of the papers it said my daughter could void her consent at any time. I would like to get full custody of her. And no I have had no support and my grand daughter now has to have counseling.

[ScottGem]

It sounds like you were granted temporary guardianship. But that its revocable. So what you want is to convert your guardianship to full custody. To do that you will need to go to court and petition for full legal and physical custody.

Whether you will get it or not we can't predict. That the mom has not made any move to contact her for 6 months will work in your favor. You would be best served by retaining a Family Law attorney to help you prepare the petition. But you can also try talking to the caseworker and see if they can help you.

Even if you do get custody, the mom may be able to regain custody by going to court. A more permanent and irreversible option is to adopt your granddaughter. But that may be harder and will be more expensive, especially if the mother objects.