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auntjul · Aug 3, 2007, 09:46 PM

I have temporary guardianship and an emergency order of protection for my 14 yr old nephew. He has been living here since May and wants to stay permanently. His mother.. my sister supports this as she is going through a divorce from his stepdad and he was having trouble at school. He is doing a complete 180 here in our stable home.

Now.. the "real" dad got a bogus order in Arkansas (we're in Chicago) with outlandish stories he talked the younger brother into saying during his summer visitation. He never returned the younger brother to my sister (she's dealing with this) but got this order and came here to try and take the nephew I have. He is TERRIFIED of this man. The abuse is extensive but only focused on him.. not the younger brother. He is told during the abuse it is because he is not the biological child. This has always been in question as it was a teen pregnancy with dates that never matched up.

So my long winded question is this... can we get the court to order a paternity test? If so will the results help us keep this man away from him? How do we do this quickly? I promised him I would keep him safe from this man.. but if he gets legit custody... I can't put this child at risk. The younger brother will say anything the dad tells him to.. but he is not the one that has been abused. Since he goes to a court in another state they never hear what he has to say.. only the younger brother.. and in affidavits typed up by "dad".

What can I do within a few weeks?

SpawnOfAzazel · Aug 3, 2007, 09:53 PM

Yes, you can get a court ordered paternity test. If you need to, you can file an emergency restraining order or order of protection.
In the meantime, call DCFS and let them know the situation; they will be able to help you some more.

auntjul · Aug 4, 2007, 05:36 AM

We got the emergency order yesterday. It helped since he came here with papers from Arkansas to take the child against his will. Police officers said the Illinois papers were what they had to abide by the court papers here so they wouldn't take him from me and they sent him on his way with a copy of he order of protection and told him he could be arrested if he comes back.

My problem is he is PISSED at this kid for disobeying him and is going to try to "get" him at all costs. He really did 4 days ago get a court in Arkansas though they don't seem to have jurisdiction of the boy. (He lives here now and Indiana before this) But he got it ex parte saying that the boy was in danger with a bunch of ridiculous claims about him being brain washed to say bad things about him (and apparently child protective services were brainwashed too because they are the ones who've repeatedly taken the kids away from him)
And the judges who took visitation away. He even claims to have deprogramming waiting for this kid when he gets back. There are tons of DCHS cases on the "father" over the years and this current order of protection. Yet he walks into a courthouse in his small town in Arakansas where this child doesn't live and gets "crazy" papers he typed that sound like an illiterate madman... APPROVED!!

Now the courts tell me that before Aug 24 which is my court date for the restraining order... I must have more than the courts temporary guardianship.

How do I force the paternity test? I am confident the results will show he is not the biological father.. and I have the mothers full support?

Is there another type of emergency hearing I can get before the end of the month?

J_9 · Aug 4, 2007, 07:20 AM

If you get that paternity test and by chance it does prove that he IS the father, this boy is in for a world of hurt. You see, if he is the father he will have the right to visitation and possible custody.

What you need to do now is document everything for that court date. Is the boy in counseling? I would suggest getting him in some sort of counseling as the counselor's testimony will weigh heavily in the courtroom.

What does your lawyer say about the hearings in Arkansas? If you don't have an attorney, get one NOW. He can subpoena the documents from the Arkansas hearings.

ScottGem · Aug 4, 2007, 07:33 AM

J_9 has a good point about the paternity test. And her question about a lawyer is very pertinent. If anyone NEEDS a lawyer you do. You need someone to quash the Arkansas orders. You need to compile all the DCHS reports, counseling recommendations and everything you can get to show what a lousy father he is. Then take that into court to get permanent guardianship.

s_cianci · Aug 4, 2007, 07:50 AM

First of all, it needs to be established who the legal "father" of your nephew is. You say that his birth resulted from a teen pregnancy with dates that "never matched up." I take that to mean that there's always been a question as to who is the actual dad. Did someone at sometime sign an acknowledgement of paternity, thereby "admitting" to being the "father" and assuming all of the accompanying rights and responsibilities and getting his name on the birth certificate? If so, then that person is the legal father and it'll be pretty hard to get a court to rule otherwise. If such person is the abusive person you speak of, then your best bet is to try to expose the fact that the paternity is questionable and ask that a DNA test be ordered for an adjudication of paternity. It might never happen but you can try. Other than that, you currently have temporary custody. In order to prevent this abusive "father" from getting custody or visitation, you'll need to produce concrete evidence of the abuse and how living with you has positively impacted your nephew.

GV70 · Aug 5, 2007, 12:03 AM

I am not sure that YOU have right to ask for paternity test.It depends on how paternity was established before.If they had divorced and the divorce decree stated that the children"are children of marriage" you cannot re-open the paternity question.. In Illinois there is 2 year statute of limitation for contest paternity and these 2 years are DEADLINE./see Illinois parentage act/.It has court practice-see In re. Marriage of Slayton.

auntjul · Aug 6, 2007, 08:37 AM

They were NOT married when the child was born and I am waiting for a copy of the divorce decree to see if it refers to them as "of the marriage".

I would like to know if I have the right to question paternity when I file for adoption. I have the mothers permission and would like to challenge the paternity of the "father". Yes he IS the abuser. And there is documented history of the abuse including DCFS removing the kids from him in the past and visitation being denied and or supervised only off and on for years. I'm want the paternity test because he will stop fighting if he knows he is not the father. He abuses him because he doesn't like who he is. He is a redneck and the boy is too "feminine" for his liking. So he wants to beat it out of him. But he would be just as happy to be able to say "I knew he wasn't my kid".

They have terrified this child telling him they will have deprogrammers waiting for him and he has gone against god and left him scary messages saying "the guilty are always afraid" and hanging up. I just want them to let him go to school and have a normal life. He is now seeing a therapist, hanging with all straight A students and planning on getting the best grades he can.. his life is the best he's ever known and he's terrified of losing it. I just need help on how to protect him best.

ScottGem · Aug 6, 2007, 08:46 AM

I would use the paternity issue as a last resort. You should NOT need it to get the adoption through. Once you do, then it becomes a moot point. But if the test shows he IS the father it can make things worse.

auntjul · Aug 6, 2007, 11:23 AM

I do have an attorney who was helping with what we thought was going to be simple guardianship. That is how I had temporary guardianship and got the advice to go get the order of protection. My attorney is out of state on vacation and so I can't talk to her (other than the one emergency cell call) until next week.

About the paternity test. My mother has always sworn that she knew it was impossible based on dates.. they met less than 8 months before the boy was born.. overdue. I asked my sister to give me an honest answer and she said 100% it is not his biological father. She claims there is no risk because she didn't even know him when the baby was conceived. She never spoke up because he was her boyfriend when she found out and the pregnancy was from a date rape situation. When they questioned the dates.. early on.. she told him and he didn't believe her.. and that is when his poor treatment of her started. She stayed because she was pregnant again.. but finally left and he has treated the older child horrifically for years but more so as his personality is turning out to be one not acceptable to the father.

If we are SURE.. say we even do our own test against the sibling in advance.. is it still a bad idea to bring paternity into question? Should we rely solely on his abuse?

GV70 · Aug 6, 2007, 01:01 PM

Originally Posted by auntjul

They were NOT married when the child was born and I am waiting for a copy of the divorce decree to see if it refers to them as "of the marriage".

I would like to know if I have the right to question paternity when I file for adoption. I have the mothers permission and would like to challenge the paternity of the "father". Yes he IS the abuser. And there is documented history of the abuse including DCFS removing the kids from him in the past and visitation being denied and or supervised only off and on for years. I'm want the paternity test because he will stop fighting if he knows he is not the father. He abuses him because he doesn't like who he is. He is a redneck and the boy is too "feminine" for his liking. So he wants to beat it out of him. But he would be just as happy to be able to say "I knew he wasn't my kid".

They have terrified this child telling him they will have deprogrammers waiting for him and he has gone against god and left him scary messages saying "the guilty are always afraid" and hanging up. I just want them to let him go to school and have a normal life. He is now seeing a therapist, hanging with all straight A students and planning on getting the best grades he can..his life is the best he's ever known and he's terrified of losing it. I just need help on how to protect him best.

In Illinois there is two years term for paternity questioning. I am not sure that you have right to use paternity card as a trump-card.Try to terminate his parental rights... but it is important how paternity was established... It is possible to have more consequences...