[bsmelley]

My son is 14 and has been arrested twice for marijuana and is going to an alternative school. I am a single mother with another child who is 5. He refuses to follow my rules and is staying with my sister because I have to work and have no way to get him to and from school since he can't ride the school bus. My sister wants to take over custody of him and I am willing to do that. How do I go about signing over my parental rights to my sister?

[AlpineAnnie]

First, have you considered what this will mean a few years down the road? Second, where is the boy's father? You can't just terminate your parental rights but there are ways for someone else to become his guardian. You would still be his parent but someone else would have guardianship over him. Any attorney that does family law can handle this matter easily. Depending on individual circumstances the father of your son may very well be entitled to custody over your sister.

[MichiganGirl10]

From experience this is not a good idea. My mother, brother, and my aunt were in the same position believe it or not. I was reading this and I was shocked at how similar this is to my family. My brother who is now 19, has a baby girl, is engaged and dropped all of his drug problems was terrible as a teen. He started smoking pott at 13 and still does now at 19. He will ALWAYS smoke pot, but if you think about it, what would you rather him do? Smoke pot? Or do other drugs that could be worse than that? They say pot is a gateway drug. Listen, Im not telling you to let him do it at all. But why take your son away from the only thing he knows as home? He may get pissed off at you or hate you sometimes because of the rules you have set before him, but he is a teenager. He will fuss, kick, scream, hate, and curse at you as much as he can. You are his mother, you may be tired of his acts... but you gave birth to him, you changed his diapers, you helped him walk after crawling. Why give away all of those memories to your sister when it was you who shared them with him? He either needs counciling, or rehab. You decide. My brother went to rehab and although it took awhile... he slowly got out of his problems and now is living the best life anybody could have asked for him. Just think about what me and AlpineAnnie are saying. Hes your son, he's your sisters nephew.

[babysaver]

Did you sign a power of attorney giving your sister temporary guardianship? You may want this to be your first step before you attempt to relinquish your parental rights. As many have stated in the forums, it is very hard to have your parental rights terminated or to relinquish parental rights. In my state there is a difference between relinquishing your parents rights (your choice) and having your parental rights terminated (the judge's decision). It is very difficult to get either choice done and that is a good thing. I would explore the power of attorney form. You and your sister can decide if you want it to be for 3 months, 9 months or a year.